


Death and a Bilgesnipe

by HeatherGiesbrecht



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Cannibalism, Forests, Green Eyes, Love, M/M, POV Alternating, POV Third Person, References to Norse Religion & Lore, Spears, Temporary Character Death, Wolves
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-19
Updated: 2014-12-06
Packaged: 2018-02-26 07:14:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 21
Words: 24,706
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2642885
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HeatherGiesbrecht/pseuds/HeatherGiesbrecht
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Thor's panicked voice, "Don't you dare close your eyes. Do you remember that bilgesnipe years ago that we killed together ? Tell me you remember."</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Bilgesnipe

Loki gasped at the agony that was ripping through his body as he pushed himself off the sword and landed on Svartalfheim's rocky ground. Almost laughed as the dark-elf was dismembered as he was pulled into another world, before Thor scrambled up, rushing over to cradle him.

Wished that his death could just be an illusion, as the panicked, blond man demanded, "Loki, Loki, look at me, **look at me**! Don't you dare close your eyes. Do you remember that bilgesnipe years ago that we killed together ? Tell me you remember."

How nice the warmth felt in contrast to the coldness that was slowly, but surely taking over him. Thor's hand suddenly rested on his chest, putting pressure on his newest impalement wound, right beside the spot where that bilgesnipe had gored him. Dark clouds their edges lit by white light floated by above them as he blinked, pulled back into that memory.

**Flashback**

Opened his eyes from his breathing exercises and panicked to see that the grass was somehow covered in ice.

_'Mother doesn't know ice magic, how can I know ice magic ? This doesn't make sense unless I'm a freak. Mother can't find out about this, no one can find out about this...this thing that just happened.'_

Snatched up his spear as a child screamed in fright near-by. The sound of a great smashing as he ran out of the hollow to see a bilgesnipe pulling its antlers from a tree. A girl had frozen in the middle of the clearing to stare in terror at the animal.

He made an illusion of the girl that the giant, gray/brown scaled, repulsive smelling and looking beast chased after - straight into an oak tree. He pushed the girl away, "Go on, run, run !", as he leveled his spear at the antlered beast as it spun back around to glare at him with mud-gray eyes.

The brown-haired girl ran as the bilgesnipe charged at him, he rolled away and thrust the spear into its side. It spun around and charged him, its antlers caused his breast-plate to buckle so that it caught him, before it tossed him hard into a tree. As everything went black he saw his brother's hammer, Mjolnir, covered in lightning slam into the bilgesnipe's mouth.

_'The girl will be safe at the very least since Thor is here now.'_

Dimly, he felt a hand twine in his blood-covered, black-hair and rest on his neck, tilting his head up. Thor's warm, deep voice started calling worriedly, "Loki ?! Loki, wake up, look at me !"

He managed to half-open his eyes to see that Thor's beautiful, blue ones were as worried as his voice. The shoulder-length blond-haired and tan-skinned man sighed in relief, "You had me worried, brother."

_'Brother ? Why must he always call me brother when he must have some inkling that is not my sentiment towards him ? Then again, this is Thor.'_

"So, I can see. Is the girl safe ?"

Thor nodded as the blue-leather and steel armoured man twisted to summon Mjolnir to himself, "She is, if she hadn't found us that bilgesnipe likely would have killed you. Even with your magic you shouldn't have gone after it alone."

_'Them ? Hogun I don't mind, but Sif ? Whenever Thor's not looking she's glaring at me because she's in love with him too. As if he would ever notice me, he's always paying more attention to everyone else, **but** me.'_

That made him scoff as he looked past Thor to the bilgesnipe's smoking corpse. "Would you have rather that I let her die simply because I am not as strong as you, brother ?"

_'Of course, I now need yet another spear. What is this going to be ? The fifth one this year alone ?'_

Shock at his words moved over Thor's face as the bigger, heavily muscled man helped him up, Thor responded, "Of course, not, Loki. It's just look at what it did to you, its antlers could have gone through your **heart** !"

An arm wrapped around his waist and he slumped against Thor from pain, weakness and dizziness, along with partially because he wanted too, as the pale-skinned Sif walked into the clearing. Her long black-haired head was held high and her tone was haughty, "You're lucky Thor was here to save you, Loki."

To be honest, it quite shocked him when Thor verbally stepped in for him, "Sif if it had not been for Loki's intervention that poor girl would have died. If Loki had not stabbed it with his spear and distracted it the bilgesnipe likely would have spotted and tried to kill me."

He looked over at his charred and splintered spear as Thor helped him walk back towards home and the healing wing. As he looked over his shoulder, he caught Sif's outraged look when Thor called back, "Sif would you get Loki's spear for him ?"

Echoes of sharp cracks reached them as they went into the trees, she'd just snapped it off. _'As she wants to do to my head I am sure. Jealous little quim, at the very least Thor always pays her heed whilst ignoring me because she enables his rash attitudes.'_

When they got to the healing wing, Mother her brown hair in loose curls, waited for them. She walked up to take his hand after Thor helped him onto the table, "How did you get injured, Loki ?"

"I saved a child from getting killed by a bilgesnipe with an illusion."

Mother smiled and replied, "I am proud of you, Loki."

Healer Hilde walked into the room and then he blacked out from his injuries. Dim sensations plauged his sleep until he woke up in his bed with Thor leaning over him. A tanned hand smoothed his hair, "You'll be all right, little brother. Father had a new spear made for you right away."

Eager to see the new spear and ignoring the slight twinge, he pushed himself up to look. Its head was still the old, sharp one, but its shaft was new and of solid oak, plated in rune-covered steel; it was still beautiful and just as deadly as before.

Slowly, he got out of his bed to pick it up, it was of the perfect weight when still and he did a few test slashes and thrusts. Smiled at how utterly perfectly the spear was as he planted it on the floor, Thor smiled too.

"I am glad it pleases you, it suits you quite nicely."

Tired, suddenly he rubbed at his right-eye and then leaned his new spear against the wall, before he walked back over to and sunk back down onto the bed. Thor helped him lay down then pulled the blanket over him.

_'Some day, some how, I'll make you notice me. I'll make it so that you have to pay attention to me.'_

** End Flashback **

He stammered from the pain, "O-of c-course, Thor, aggh."

Thor's other hand took his and squeezed tightly, "You survived that, you can survive this. Y-you **have** to survive it, Loki, I-I can't lose you too, not right after Mother."

_'He wants me to live ? And why would he want that ? Ever since I tried to kill his precious Jane, he's wanted me dead.'_

Harsh laughter burst from his throat, "Why ? I have no reason to want it. Mother is dead, Father hates me and you stated that you wanted me dead or you'd kill me, either way you win."

Sadness filled his 'brother's eyes and Thor exclaimed, "I lied, again, I could never actually do it. You just saved my life, why ? To impress Father ? I'll tell him about this, he'll have to forgive you and you can really come home with me this time, no more prison."

Felt himself fading as he answered, "No, not Father, I just-" _'Wanted you. I just wanted to impress you enough to notice me, to **love** me.'_

A blond woman with a raven's wings in silver and black-armour astride an enormous wolf loomed over him as he stood above his body and Thor. She was one of the V-valkyries, "Valhalla calls, will you accompany me, Loki of Asgard ?"

For a second, he stood frozen, uncomprehending before he looked down at Thor. Watched in amazement as Thor bent to press a soft, but definitely not brotherly, kiss against his lips as the faint light disappeared and a ferocious storm broke overhead.

It was very odd seeing the downpour, but not feeling it hit his skin. Thor whispered, "I'm sorry. I had so many opportunities to tell you and now it's too late, but I-I loved you, Loki, far more than I should have."

His jubilant shout of, "Yes !", echoed in the air and then the valkyrie cleared her throat. He coughed slightly to rein himself in and calmly answered, "Of course I will."

The valkyrie's wings flapped as he climbed on behind her, as they took off, he looked behind him. A determined Thor had risen from beside his body and the words, "Malekith will pay.", echoed after the valkyrie and himself.

_'Good luck, my love, I'll be waiting with Mother for you.'_


	2. Death

Thor scrambled over the rocks to Loki's side as the long black-haired man crashed to the ground. _'I can't believe he did that. Why ? Why would he save me ? Why did that damned dark-elf have to impale him too ? Why does this have to happen now ?'_

Panicked as the pale skin was already fading to gray, like he supposed any Jotun's would in this situation, he scooped Loki up.

Green-eyes blinked slowly and unseeingly up at him and he demanded, as he pressed a hand against the wound, "Loki, Loki. Look at me, **look at me**! Don't you dare close your eyes. Do you remember that bilgesnipe years ago that we killed together ? Tell me you remember."

_'This isn't happening, it can't be, it's not. When I open my eyes I'll be laying in bed and he's going to be just fine. He has to be fine, just like with the bilgesnipe.'_

At Loki's weak answer of, "O-of course, Thor.", followed by a pain moan, he, disturbingly and disgustingly considering the circumstance, noticed the way that the slim body's muscles rippled under his hand. The blood that flowed from the wound drew his gaze to the spot beside it, the spot that would be covered in a scar.

**Flashback**

It startled him when a little girl running from the forest at full speed crashed into his legs. The brown-haired girl looking panicked and terrified and waving her arms exclaimed, "Prince Thor ! Prince Thor there's, there's a-a **bi-bilgesnipe** and P-prince Loki told me to run and he's, he's **fighting it**!"

At the words, "Bilgesnipe." and "Loki.", his heart-beat tripled in anxiety as he bolted past the girl into the forest, his only thoughts were, _'Loki, Loki, Loki !'_

He just barely remembered to unhook Mjolnir from his belt and summon some lightning as a clearing approached and he saw the bilgesnipe. More worry filled him as he saw Loki's spear thrust in the enormous beast's side, but...no Loki. Mjolnir left his hand without his conscious thought and struck the gray/brown scaled animal with all his, very formidable, strength.

Before he even entered the clearing, he'd already started looking for Loki and it caused him to trip. His muscles shook and then locked as his gaze found a nearly broken oak tree whose trunk was smeared with blood, down to Loki's eerily still form slumped in its roots. Loki's breast-plate was bloody, buckled and warped with a piece of broken antler sticking out of it, there was no way Loki could still be alive.

 _'No, no, he can't be dead ! He can't be, he's alive. He's alive, alive.'_ That mantra repeated itself as he scrambled upright to crouch beside his too lovely brother. Loki's already pale skin was even paler than normal. Impulsively, he reached a hand out to wrap around the back of his brother's neck, flinching at the feeling of Loki's warm blood on his fingers.

Lifted Loki's head up to bring his ear to the pale-pink lips, no sound and not even a whisper of breath. Ripped the antler piece out of Loki's chest, it was wrong, it was so wrong, it had to be. Unable to believe it was possible, desperately he half-shouted, " **Loki**! Loki, wake up, look at me !"

_'Come on, brother ! Open your eyes, open those pretty green-eyes for me. Look at me, you have to look at me.'_

A second later, he sighed aloud as Loki's eyes fluttered open as the black-haired man gave a pained moan. "You had me worried, brother."

Unexpectedly, those green-eyes were filled with annoyance and exasperation as if he should have known that Loki wouldn't ever die on him. The soft, smooth voice, worryingly flat, as Loki replied, "So, I can see. Is the girl safe ?"

_'He would have died if that girl hadn't found me. How can I thank her for telling me ? As a Prince of Asgard I **must** be able to think of something to do for her.'_

Twisted to summon Mjolnir to him as he responded, "She is, if she hadn't found us that bilgesnipe likely would have killed you. Even with your magic you shouldn't have gone after it alone."

_'I know he's just as strong as the rest of us, but he's so slim and delicate looking. Like if I put too much pressure on him a second later he'll be gone...forever.'_

When he looked back at his 'brother' Loki asked angrily, "Would you have rather that I let her **die** simply because I am **not as strong** as you, brother ?"

Pulled Loki upright and put an arm around the blood stained waist as he answered, "O-of course, not Loki. J-just look at what it did to you ! It almost killed you, it's antlers could have gone through your **heart** !"

_'He's so much smarter than me you think he would have realized it by now.'_

Loki slumped against him as an angry Sif called, "You're lucky Thor was here to save you, Loki."

As he tightened his grip on Loki as the man nearly fell before he steered them towards the exit, "Sif, if it had not been for Loki's intervention that poor girl would have **died**. If Loki had not stabbed it with his spear and distracted it the bilgesnipe likely would have spotted and tried to **kill me**." Sif didn't have an answer so he continued, "Sif, would you get Loki's spear for him ?"

It was all too easy for him to imagine Sif glaring at Loki, for some reason she was angry at Loki whenever she thought he wasn't looking. _'Simply because he doesn't want to court her or because I am always looking at him instead of her ?'_

His feelings had first made themselves apparent when he'd always felt unusually nervous after one of Loki's rare smiles, before they'd transformed into distractions during training sessions and then a few years later into dreams that were far more appropriate for someone who was not his **brother**.

Loki's head rested on his shoulder as Hogun ran up, Hogun looked like he wanted to say something, then he did, "I'll get Queen Frigga.", before the black armoured man turned and ran back toward the palace.

A blur of his telling Loki to stay awake, though he wasn't sure that Loki was even still fully awake, until they reached the healing wing. Mother stood beside the table as he helped Loki get on before she took his hand, Father stood off to the side with a worried look.

Mother asked, "How did you get injured, Loki ?"

By his words and proud tone, Loki was still somewhat awake as with a smile, he boasted, "I saved a child from getting killed by a bilgesnipe with an illusion."

After Mother gave Loki her praise, his 'brother' blacked out as Healer Hilde walked in. He watched the healer anxiously and repressing the unwelcome question of, "Is he still going die ?"

To distract himself, he looked over at Father and said, "Father, Loki's spear broke, or rather Sif broke it, after the fight with the bilgesnipe. Do you think you could get him a new one ?"

Father nodded, "Of course, it's only fair considering what he did. I'll have someone start on it when Sif returns with it."

Just then Sif did walk in and Father gestured to her so that they walked out together. Mother watched him as some time later, Healer Hilde finished her work and he stared at Loki's unconscious body. That pale, lean muscled body that up until just barely had been free of all scars, now though there was a raised circular scar where he'd pulled the antler out of Loki's chest.

Slowly, he picked up his 'little brother' and on his way to take Loki to his chambers, the little girl ran up to him. She looked worried and just about to cry as she saw him carrying Loki.

He crouched down to let her see that Loki was in fact still breathing, "Don't worry, he's okay, he's just really tired after saving you."

The girl brightened at the sight and his words, before she asked, "You're going to take care of him aren't you, Prince Thor ?"

"Yes, yes, I am. Now, what can I do for you after finding me so that we could help him ?"

_'Or as much as he will let me. Stubborn Loki, I'll be lucky if he even lets me help him get up after he wakes up.'_

"Yay and Mother said you shouldn't need a gift after helping someone. I don't need you to do anything, Prince Thor, but Prince Loki is going to need a **lot** of help."

"If he lets me I will, what is your name, little one ?"

The girl beamed up at him, "Freida."

"Well, Freida, since you won't let me do anything for you, why don't I see if you can meet him, again. Does that sound nice ?"

Freida squealed happily and ran past him, thus allowing him to enter Loki's rooms and put the black-haired man in his bed. Again, he stared at the other before sitting down to wait.

_'Surely, Loki will want to make sure that she is all right in-person.'_

Eventually, Mother brought him and Loki some food, he ate his slowly. _'Should I wake him up ? He needs to eat after loosing so much blood, but he looks so peaceful, I don't really want to wake him.'_

Father arrived with Loki's new spear and leaned it against the wall, "Has he woken yet, Thor ?"

"No, Father. Y-you don't think he'll be stuck like this do you ?"

Father walked over to lean over Loki and did some sort of spell that he'd learned from Mother on Loki. Father smiled as he replied, "He should be waking soon and **you** should be sleeping as you've been up for nearly two days."

_'Two days ? It doesn't feel that long at all.'_

Once again, Father left before mere minutes later, Loki opened his eyes. Found himself running a hand over the soft black-hair as he murmured, "You'll be all right, little brother. Father had a new spear made for you right away."

Ever eager to see one of his new spears, the sixth one this year alone because of himself, Loki pushed himself up so fast that they nearly slammed foreheads. Then Loki leaned past him before quickly getting up to pick up the spear and test it out. After the test was done it was nice to see Loki smile since he'd nearly died.

"I am glad it pleases you, it suits you quite nicely."

Suddenly, Loki yawned and rubbed at an eye, seemingly, once again, half-asleep as he leaned the spear against the wall. A pale hand slid through the cleaned hair before Loki wandered over to the bed, just so that Loki wouldn't hurt himself he wrapped a hand around a pale side and helped him lay down.

Another, rather adorable, half-hummed yawn as the green-eyes fluttered shut and Loki squirmed to get comfortable as he slowly pulled the blanket over his 'brother'.

_'I'll protect you, Loki, no matter what happens. You've never been 'just' my anything.'_

**End Flashback**

_'Loki survived the bilgesnipe, he has to survive this.'_

Pulled back into the present, he took Loki's hand in his free one and squeezed tightly as Loki's eyes blanked for a second, "You survived that, you can survive this. Y-you **have** to survive it, Loki, I-I **can't** lose you too, not right after Mother."

Whatever response he expected, it wasn't the pained and harsh laughter that it actually got, "Why ? I have no reason to want it. Mother is dead, Father hates me and you stated that you wanted me dead or you'd kill me, either way you win."

_'He believed me ? How could he believe me ?! I just said that so he, hopefully, wouldn't rip my heart out again. If he thinks I want him dead, why would he save me ?'_

Disbelief as he replied, "I lied, again, I could never actually do it. You just saved my life, why ? To impress Father ? I'll tell him about this, he'll have to forgive you and you can really come home with me this time, no more prison."

Loki shook his head weakly, "No, not Father, I just-", before his love could finish the sentence his eyes slid shut for the last time.

_'Just what ? **You just what ?** Did you, could you have actually wanted to impress **me** ? Wanted to impress me by killing that damned dark-elf so it wouldn't kill me ? All the things you did for me and I never even told you how I felt. It might be meaningless to him now, but I can still tell him.'_

He leaned down to press his lips against Loki's, repressed a shudder at how unusually cold Loki's body was already, and pulled away. _'I always wondered when we were younger why he seemed to be cooler than the room we were in. I don't care that he was a Jotun in appearance, he was always my love in every way that really mattered. He never told me himself because he thought I'd hate him most likely. He didn't know that I never could, no matter how much I implied otherwise.'_

"I'm sorry. I had **so many** opportunities to tell you and now it's too late, but **I loved you** , Loki, far more than I should have."

Startled as he noticed that he'd unconsciously summoned a storm. _'If Malekith had never woken up that damned dark-elf wouldn't have killed anyone, much less Loki. Mother and Loki would still be alive, the universe would be safe from harm; this all happened because of Malekith ! **No one else is going to die because of that coward**!'_

Oh, how Malekith would wish that he died when Grandfather Bor still lived, because this was unforgivable. He stood and growled, "Malekith will pay.", as the thunder that roared above mimicked his sheer fury.


	3. Reaction

Thor looked about himself at the sucluded lake that'd been one of Loki's favourite spots, especially when Thorgil and the others had taunted him about, "Looking funny compared to everyone else in your family and being ugly."

The lake was surrounded cherry trees, the shore a mixture of light sand and pebbles. It was absolutely beautiful, but nowhere near when he'd first found Loki here or all the other times. _'It seems like he should be walking out of the trees any second, now, like the first time and get mad at me for intruding on his 'solace'. Well, that or like he went for a swim and he'll surface soon.'_

Loki probably would have gotten mad that he was moping around, but Loki wasn't here to complain, he hadn't been for six months. A very long six months that not even Father and Jane combined had been able to help him with. He still remembered Father and Freida's reactions:

**Flashback**

Slowly, carefully, he lay Loki's body down at the foot of Father's throne, because Father hadn't believed that after so many attempts to kill Loki by various people, that Laufey's son was dead. Father descended the many steps from the remnants of his golden throne to crouch down and run a hand over Loki's only slightly warmed body. It was obvious that Father came to the same conclusion that he'd told him when Father bowed his head and asked, "How did Loki die, Thor ?"

His gaze drifted to the many golden columns and the walls that surrounded them that had only just started being repaired, then back to his Father as he replied, "With great honour, Father, he saved me from being killed by the Kursed dark-elf Algrim. He stabbed Algrim with one of the other dark-elf warrior's weapons and was himself pulled onto it by Algrim. He managed to activate one of Algrim's grenades, before getting off the sword and dying in my arms."

A slow nod, followed by, "Then let Asgard know that Loki has redeemed himself of his crimes. He deserves a warriors funeral and he will have it tonight."

_'I should be the one to tell Freida that Loki is dead, she deserves to hear it from me instead of by gossip.'_

When he got to Freida's house, her father, the white-haired Thorgil, answered the door and bowed, "Prince Thor ! What may we do for you ?"

"Is Freida here ?"

Thorgil nodded, "Yes, my Prince, she is. Freida, Prince Thor, wants to see you."

The brown-haired, now, young woman, who would have her first child any day, came to the door as Thorgil left. Her grey-eyes first flitted over his shoulder, undoubtebly, looking for Loki, then they turned to him, "You look very sad, my Prince, what has happened ? It's something to do with Prince Loki isn't ?"

Forced himself to the swallow the sudden lump in his throat, so that he could say, "L-loki, he was killed by a dark-elf yesterday after saving my life."

As Loki and Freida had become a pair of slightly odd, but close, friends over the years, and given her pregnancy, it didn't surprise him when she burst into tears at the news. When he'd done his best to comfort her, Freida wiped at her eyes and sniffled, then wondered, "W-will he -?", but couldn't make herself finish it.

"He will, our father is having it tonight. I just wanted to make sure that you knew personally considering what he did for you."

That night, he couldn't believe how many people had come. Not nearly as many as for Mother's, but still quite a few with, surprisingly, Sif having been one of the first to arrive, second only to Freida. He looked down into the boat - Loki had been laid out in his green and gold armour, wearing his antlered helmet, the long black-hair fanned out under his shoulders, and with one of his favoured spears in hand.

All he could do was stare blankly around at the white-energy spheres that most everyone held. _'Loki explained what they meant to me once - when old Silfasol was killed by Marauders on Vanaheim, I can't remember what he said now, but I wish I did.'_

Nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw the boat had started moving, when the arrow started towards the boat the impossible thoughts of, _'What if he's just in some sort of Jotun death-like sleep, sort of like Father's Odinsleep ? What if we're killing him right now ?'_ , entered his head.

After the single, solemn thud of Father's spear and the others had released their spheres, he heard Father murmur, "Good-bye, Loki...Odinson.", before Father suddenly pulled him into an embrace. _'We're the only ones left now.'_

**End Flashback**

Annoyed at his inability to let go of his love, he picked up a pebble and threw it angrily into the center of the lake. As the ripples lapped against the shore, suddenly, something hit the water with a tremendous splash. 


	4. Home

Loki stared in confusion at what the three Jotnar Norns - Skuld the youngest and fairest haired, Verdandi the middle and with, ironically, hair as fire, and Urd the oldest whose hair was black as night - had just told himself and Mother.  
  
All he could do was turn to look at Mother as they stood beside the roots of the great, golden tree Glasir in front of Valhalla's main hall. _'How could they make a mistake ? Father said that they hardly ever made mistakes. What does, **aaah** -'_

When he was shoved, on instinct, he grabbed onto Mother and then space, stars and galaxies suddenly wheeled around them at incredible speeds. Just barely he saw what looked like a body of water below before they hit it, like Mjolnir as it crushed a fly, except that himself and Mother were the fly. The impact force stole his breath and tore Mother away from him as water rushed in his ears. Incredibly disoriented, he tried to swim, but had no idea if he was in fact moving or staying still. Fish scattered past him, their scales glittering as he looked for Mother and couldn't find her. _'Move, swim, do something, you fool ! Something ? It won't matter if Th-th-, Nornsdamnit, **Thanos** finds her because you lost her already !'_

As if just thinking that horrible name had summoned him, suddenly, he found himself in the Other's company. The purple robed man looked down at him from above as he lay on a platform that he knew all too well. It would be made of white-stone and dark metal inlaid with a ring of purple energy.

The Other shook his head and clucked his tongue, "First he is cast out of Asgard and then not even Valhalla will take poor, runty and traitorous Loki. I suppose he will just destroy Valhalla second then, instead of first. He wants you to know that he is going to obliterate all that you hold dear before he even thinks of starting on your torture."

Pupil-less, iris-less, dark purple-blue eyes formed in front of him, "You will not escape me, you cannot and will never escape me, Loki. Never."

He scrambled away and threw himself off the platform, screaming, into the meteor strewn space as something tried to grab him. Flailed and thrashed as it caught him around the waist, _'Nononono !'_

Someone, a very different and warm voice, called from far away, "Ssh, Loki, be calm. That's it, love, calm."

Just as suddenly as he'd appeared in the Chitauri Space, he was coughing up water and opened his eyes before gasping, "T-thor."

Calloused fingers brushed clinging hair off his forehead as Thor stared disbelievingly down at him, that movement drew his gaze down Thor's arm to the tunic-less, tanned chest as water dripped slowly down it. _'Mm, I could definitely do with this more often.'_

A smile followed by a softly whispered, "My lovely Loki.", that had him blushing as much as the first time he'd accidentally stumbled over animals rutting in the woods.

It took a second for him to remember how to push himself up, when he did and he looked down at himself, he quickly re-cast the spell that Father had used to give him his 'Asgardian' appearance that Mother had taught him one night in Valhalla.

_'He can't possibly like me looking like that. He's just happy Mother and I are...home. **We're home, we're home** !'_

While Thor chuckled, "Father is never going to believe this !", he lunged up to hug the man and pressed his face against the bearded cheek as wild laughter burst from his lips.

_'Just like Grandfather didn't believe that I was related to him when I introduced myself to him.'_

**Flashback**

He looked slightly nervously about the golden hall and down the long oak table at the ten-foot Jotun, Bergelmir Thrudgelmirson, former King of Jotunheim...his grandfather.

Mother nudged him, "Go on Loki, it's not like he can kill you permanently."

Slowly, he got up and walked down, "Hail Bergelmir Thrudgelmirson."

The old Jotun turned to look at him and rumbled, "Hail to thee, stranger. Who are you ?"

"I am Loki Laufeyson...of Asgard."

"Nay, my grandson would not look as thee does."

Reluctantly, because when he looked at his 'true appearance' he didn't think of it as himself, he reached out to touch his grandfather and Father's spell dissipated like snow in the sun.

That got him a second look and then the dark-red eyes turned warm, "Aye, now you look as my little Loki did, except much bigger than last I saw you."

**End Flashback**

Thor pulled them up even easier than he could have and Mother, holding Thor's black tunic, said, "Never mind your father, I want to see Freida's reaction to Loki."

That made him chuckle as he imagined the 'freak-out' she would have. Thor gave him a mysterious smile as they turned and left the lake behind them.


	5. Loki

Thor couldn't help laughing as one of the many people who were staring at Mother and Loki as they walked by said, "I told you he snapped, why else would he have King Odin make illusions of them ?"

Someone replied, "Shut up, you dirty Jotun."

Despite the fact that Loki flinched slightly he still chuckled at the phrase as they walked into the palace. Minutes later, he was astonished as, for the first time ever, he saw Father cry when the old man pulled Mother **and** Loki into a hug. Father pulled back to smooth Loki's still dripping hair and stare into those dark-green eyes.

It almost seemed like himself and Mother disappeared as Father started talking, "I am so sorry that I never tried to talk or do anything with you. That I never told you how proud I was of you when I had the chance before your death. It was only when Thor showed me your body that I realized just how horrible I had been to you, Loki. I realized that when I had you thrown in prison, when I threatened to have you executed that I was just like those bullies who used to taunt you. It's just that when you were younger you were always with Frigga learning magic or off by yourself. Then when I heard that you had stood up to young Thorgil and his friends I wanted to say something, but I, well, I thought you didn't need my congratulations. Years after that when yourself and Thor killed that bilgesnipe I was so afraid that I'd lose you that I was almost speechless. You kept doing all these wonderful things - like befriending young Freida and saving her, again, from that bear among others. That day, that day I sensed you use Jotun magic for the first time even though you didn't know what it meant, you used it to save her. I should have said this many years ago, but I am proud of you and I'm sorry for what I ordered done to you."

His gaze drifted to the spiralled golden columns that'd finished being fixed a month ago after Mother and himself shared a smile. _'Perhaps Father and Loki can finally start understanding each other now. Now that Loki knows what I suspected all along.'_

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Loki give Father a hesitant smile, "I-I always thought Thorgil and the others were right about me because I never looked like any of you and because you never approached me like the others Fathers did them. I always told myself it was just because you were too busy with your duties. When Mother started teaching me magic, I wanted you to say something, but you never did and I started to think that maybe you hated me because of it. I wanted you or Thor or someone besides Mother to notice me, so I finally stood up to those arrogant brats, but, still you never did. So, I figured that some how even if I had to start a war to do it, I would get your approval somehow. I-it didn't work I know, but when Th-, ", Loki shuddered and he moved to wrap an arm around Loki, "thanos was using the Other to torture me, I told myself that if I could escape the torture alive without breaking you'd **finally** be proud of me. Ex-except it was too much over and over and over what felt like an eternity that I-I broke because I just wanted it to end and it wouldn't, it was never going to end, ever ! When I was brain-washed I hoped that if I got the Avengers angry enough that Thor would become exasperated enough to get you that I would finally be free. That even if I got thrown in prison, you would have worried enough to confront me. I'm glad that you finally told me and I accept your apology...Father."

He didn't know who, or what, this 'Thanos' thought he was, but one **did not** torture, tramatize and brain-wash his love and get away with it ! Slowly, so he wouldn't startle Loki, he rubbed the other man's back, whether it was consciously or not, Loki was shaking like a leaf in a storm.

Mother looked concerned and Father had turned grim, again, "When Thor mentioned the Chituari I should have known that **he** would be involved. It is nothing to be ashamed of Loki that you broke because of him, doubtless you lasted far longer than many others. You still have a passage open in your mind that he can get through, while I can't put the spell on yourself as I did the appearance spell, I can put it on a, mind that it has to be very powerful, relic that would close it. I'm hesitant to send you after it because the only person I know who has such a relic is the dwarf Andvari who lives under a waterfall in Svartalfheim."

_'Who knows how he would react to going there alone after dying there, I won't let him go by himself.'_

With that thought, he looked at Father and stated, "I am not going to let my love go alone, I am going with him !"

It surprised him when Father didn't look shocked when he said, "Love.", in fact Father's grim expression faded into a smile.

"That gladdens me, when you go take a party of whoever you wish with you as there may be Marauders hiding on Svartalfheim. Still make sure that you boys have some fun before you go charging off on another adventure."

Loki suddenly pulled away from him to rush over to one of the columns, then said with almost childish glee, "Watch what I can do, Father !", before putting his hand on it. All he could do was stare in amazment as a sheet of ice coated the column, including the spirals, evenly from the middle to the top and bottom.

_'When did he learn how to do that ? I didn't even know he could, well, yes, he is a Jotun, but I never thought of him as one. This is, this amazing.'_

He must have said it aloud because Loki said, "Grandfather taught me how to do it, **my** grandfather mind you, not Bor, but I did meet him. Bor and I killed each other a few times, it was fun actually. Come on, Thor, I'm sure Mother and Father want some time to themselves now."

As they left he had to mentally beg, _'Please, please don't tell me that he's gotten so used to being resurrected that he won't care about injuries now.'_

Since Loki was repressing his excitement it didn't take them very long to get to Freida's house. Freida's house was a one level, oak house rather like Jane's, but Jane's was two-storeyed and had more apli-appli-appliances and had more history with him. Said history being embarrassing and involving Jane, ah, 'pillaging his dirty Jotun' and Loki's name.

**Flashback**

Jane burst out laughing, "I should have known with all the times you were mumbling about him. Well, that and all the times you were staring at him on the boat. So, why did you choose me instead ? I mean he is really pretty, Hell knows-"

He interrupted, "Hel ? What has Queen Hel have to do with anything ?"

"Ah, it's a saying, Thor, but, err, no offense Your Majesty. Anyway, actually the first time I saw him I thought he was pretty...asshole-ish. Still I guess, even if he didn't love you back, he still loved you enough to die for you."

**End Flashback**

Just remembering it he turned an embarrassed look to Loki to find that Loki was giving him an odd look. _'Thank the Norns that he will probably **never** find out about it.'_

A second later, he shook it off and knocked on Freida's door. It opened, Freida stared at Loki for a moment before..."Loki ! H-how ?", and then she was lifting him and jumping around in delight.

Of course, when she let him go, Loki cleared his throat then hugged her, "It's good to see you too, Freida, I missed you."

"Ooo, you've got to meet my little girl, she's so cute." Freida motioned them in and picked up her blond streaked-brown haired six month old to say, "Prince Loki, meet **my** little Loki Freidajardottir. Loki, this is your Uncle Thor and this is your Uncle Loki."

Smiled as he stretched out a finger for little Loki to grasp as her green-eyes glowed, and replied, "It's lovely to meet you, Loki."

It made him laugh as Loki smiled when he accepted little Loki and murmured, "Who's going to kick lots of dirty Jotuns when she's older just like her namesake, hmm ? You are, yes, you are. Huh, who's that ? Is it... **another** Mother ? Oh, the horror !"

Little Loki giggled her heart out as Loki changed himself to look like Freida and then back into himself. _'Loki would definitely be able to keep little ones entertained...I wonder if he's ever thought about taking in an orphan ?'_

They talked for a bit more, before himself and Loki took their leave of Freida and little Loki to find their party before heading to Svartalfheim...again.


	6. Andvari

Loki looked down at the craggy, brown-rocks at his feet that bordered a blue/silver river, and shuddered, as for a millisecond, he seemed to be standing in a gigantic pool of his own blood. Nearly turned and punched Hogun when the black-haired Vanir's hand landed on his shoulder without warning, "Are you all right, Loki ?"

He took a deep breath, looking up at Thor, Sif and the blond-haired Fandral as he replied, "It's nothing, a mere illusion. Let's just try to find Andvari."

_'We're near the waterfall, so close that we should be able to hear and see it, so why can we not ?'_

Fandral nodded and jumped to the other side of the river to search. As he crouched by the river to dip a hand in, Hogun wandered off to the right. Tilted his head as he cooled the water and forming the thick ice up towards where the waterfall should have been falling and slowly it did reveal itself.

Grinned to himself as he remembered how much trouble he'd had freezing water in Valhalla, mostly because people were trying to kill him and smashing his ice at the same time.

**Flashback**

Grandfather whispered, "One of them's above us, try it now."

So, he tried focusing on the, very dimly, cool feeling of the water and tried to focus on turning it even colder. Slowly, so slowly, a thin sheet of ice crept across the surface and then **crack-smash** ! Someone, an ash-blond man, thundered onto the ice and fell into the water.

On instinct, he ducked and spun as someone tried grabbing him from behind. Since he'd had his knife unsheathed the whole time, he quickly turned the water on the blade to ice as he rose to cut the red-haired man's throat.

Grandfather laughed and he turned to look at the much bigger Jotun. Grandfather had turned the whole river into a thick sheet of ice thusly trapping the ash-blond man underneath it.

_'Someday, I'm going to control it enough to do that.'_

**End Flashback**

Sif mumured, as she tossed her hair, "Who knew you could learn something useful from one of them."

Despite the fact that Sif had apologized for her behaviour towards him, he still very much disliked her when she said such as she just had as it made him angry. _'How I wish I was still in Valhalla, so that I could kill her today and then again the next ! She **dares** to make fun of my grandfather.'_

Thor shook his head, "Sif if you cannot or will not stop taunting Loki about his birth parentage, I swear that I will have Heimdall send you back to Asgard. As Father said there may be Marauders here and if there are any, we need to be a team."

Just then, there was the sound of people shouting and thudding on the ice from the inside. That made him laugh as Sif glared, "Hmm, well, would you look at that, Thor ? It seems that I caught myself some fish."

"Indeed, Loki, shall we sort them out if they're hostile ?"

He reached behind himself to pick up his spear and sling it on his back as he got up, pulling out a throwing knife while himself, Thor and Sif readied themselves an axehead broke through.

Sif chuckled, "Maybe you should help them, Thor, otherwise it could take a while."

Mjolnir smashed through his ice like it was water, causing the one with the axe to get knocked away before it came back. The Marauders rushed out of the once again flowing fall at which he decided to make it easier for everyone - utilizing the water to encase them with thick ice, like he'd done with Heimdall two years ago, but by himself this time, so yes, he was also showing off just a bit.

_'Let's see you top that little feat, Sif. Wait, I forgot she is not a frost- or firegiant, so she can't !'_

Disinterestedly, he threw the knife which flew into the axe-wielding marauder's forehead as the gray-skinned Kronan rushed them. Hogun and Fandral came back, then everyone had a time of smashing, stabbing or hacking the frozen Marauders to death.

A muffled shouting from behind the waterfall and they headed into the cave, he stopped, feeling weakened at the sudden onslaught of heat from Andvari's forge. The bright orange/red light was easily visible as the cave sloped down into a tunnel. _'I suppose that this is what Grandfather meant when he said I'd react differently now that I am consciously using Jotnar magic.'_

With that thought he formed ice wrist guards and a collar hoping to keep from being brought down by the heat too quickly. The dark-brown cavern was still rocky and enormous, when they entered taking up a large portion of the carvern was the dwarf's forge. _'Like all his race he's incredibly short, so, how can he use this ? Well, since he can bless and curse objects/relics he must have magic of some sort.'_

Andvari bound and gagged was suspended from a fraying rope that hung over his forge. Fandral jumped to grab the soot-colored dwarf as the rope snapped and after landing on the opposite side of the forge the pale-skinned, blond man undid the dwarf's bonds.

The silver-haired and bearded dwarf, while to himself was not very good-looking, for the dwarven race he supposed Andvari could be, as he hadn't met many dwarves before. Andvari snapped, "What'dya want Asgardians ?"

Outraged, Sif countered, "We just saved your life, how can you be so rude ?"

_'Because it's part of dwarven nature to be mistrustful about nearly everything.'_

Frandal jumped in to say, "My good Advari, we came to ask a powerful relic from you after King Odin recommended it to save Loki from mental harm."

Andvari hrumphfed and countered, "Why should I help the, very likely, soon-to be Ymirkind, much less that he is the son of Laufey the Terrible ? Laufey who tried to steal the same from me when I refused him."

_'Loki Ymirkind, Loki Ymir's child, as lovely as my being King of Jotunheim sounds it is unlikely to happen. What does he think that my mother is just going to abandon the throne because I show up ?'_

Irritated, not just because of the heat, but because Andvari was judging him on his fathers' merit instead of his own, he walked over, grabbed and lifted the green-eyed dwarf to snarl, "Either tell us what we must do to get my Great-great Grandfather Ymir's ring or I will freeze you to **within an inch** of your life !"

Thor walked over to take Andvari from him and put him on the ground, "I apologize Andvari, Loki can get angered easily in extreme heat. Please, tell us what we need to do and I swear that we will do it to the best of our ability. I also swear that unlike Laufey we will not try to steal it from you, even if we don't complete the tasks."

Andvari brushed his gray and brown, short-sleeved tunic off before glaring at him, "You will get me one of your mother Queen Sokki of Jotunheim's hairs."

_'Sokki ? Grandfather said my mother's name is Frabauti, I suppose she has many names by now. I wonder how she will react to me, will she be glad to see me ? Angry that I did not return to her when I realized what I was ?'_

"The Odinson will get me a symbol of unity or liberation, which ever he prefers. My Lady will get me the gem of the most ferocious ice dragon that she may find. And lastly, you, my friend will get me one of Queen Frigga's hairs. If all you get me these things then I will give to you Ymir's ring to do with it as you wish."

His ice collar and guards had started to melt finally as they agreed to do so and left Andvari behind - himself, Thor and Sif to Jotunheim and Fandral back to Asgard. After he was done in Jotunheim, himself and Thor would go to Midgard to look for something that fit Andvari's description. _'I wish to never see this place again after we get Great-great Grandfather's ring.'_


	7. Jot

Thor turned from the two nine-foot Jotnar guards as the Bifrost thundered down behind himself and Loki. When it faded, Fandral, looking very tired, stood in front of them.

The paler blond shook his head and stated, "I don't know how you two managed to live with Queen Frigga ! Though, I suppose I know, now, where you two got your stubborness from, even more than King Odin. I ask her and she says, "No."

I asked her, "Why will Her Majesty not ?"

"My magic is very strong in every part of my being, I cannot just give it to you, though I know why you ask."

"Well, what must I do ?"

A second before she replied, "Go into the forest and find me the flaming eye of a talking oak, it is a relic that could help in the future."

So, I go into the forest and search in vain for hours. Until just when I had given up, I hear a strange voice asking me what I want and so I turn. A great oak tree with a flaming sapphire set within it, is **talking to me**! Thusly, I tell it my quest and then it states that unless I find the nut it lost, I won't have its 'eye'. So, I go back to look for it and, of course, it's that enormous, petrified, oak nut that King Bor made a center-piece long ago. It took myself and four women to lift that nut back to the tree. First, I had to pry the damned thing out, finally after more hours I get the sapphire and go back to Her Majesty.

She then said, "Thank you, Fandral, I'm sorry I had to do that. Take this to Andvari for me, please." and gave me one of her hairs. It's tiring work that is." Fandral huffed and ran a hand over his hair as he finished.

Despite how tired Fandral looked, he couldn't help, but laugh because that was truly his mother in a way that Fandral had never seen her before.  
   
 _'_ _It sounds hard for him, now just imagine what Sif must be going through to kill that ice dragon and get its gem. I just hope that it won't be like the feat that Loki told me his Grandfather told him of, "Jotmir Hjorrson and the Slaying of Amattreitr or the Slaying of Terrible-Poison." I like her not some times because of what she says to Loki, but I would never wish Amattreitr on her. I doubt that even Loki would.'_

Loki chuckled beside him, "Ah, I remember having to do such things. I would get them and then Mother would teach me a spell relating to that object. When I asked her once why she did not want the Logi Auga jar Eik, she said it was not yet time for to posses the flaming eye of oak and now I know why."

Behind them when one of the guards snapped, "Do you want entrance or not, cursed Asgardians ?", he turned them, readying Mjolnir.

At that Loki spun shedding his image spell and the dark-ruby eyes flashed as he roared, "I am Loki Laufeyson, rightful Prince of Jotunheim !"

It was rather hilarious to see the giant guards scramble to drop their weapons, push the enormous, frosted ice doors open and cross their arms over their chests, to show that they could make no weapons according to Loki, before kneeling; after which Loki still looking tiny compared to the guards, proudly stalked between them, his skin the same white-blue shade.

While it was still startling to see Loki's Jotun form, it was nothing compared to how confused and, to be honest, slightly frightening as in the lake when Loki in said form had started thrasing and flailing for no reason.

_'I wonder why is it that he has hair, yet no other Jotnar male that I've seen has any ?'_

As they passed between the giant, grey-stone castle's walls onto the thick ice of the castle's floor. He yelped as he slipped and fell, yet Loki bare-foot walking across it without trouble, turned to give him an amused look.

Loki walked back over as Fandral slammed into his back, "Oh you poor, poor Asgardians. You like hot air, but yet you're still not heavy enough to stand on the ice." said with a soften smile.

The, should have been, Prince of Jotunheim held out his hands to help them up.

Fandral asked, "Are you sure you're not going to accidentally freeze us ?"

"Considering that I learned Jotnar magic from my grandfather Bergelmir Thrudgelmirson, who was one of the greatest ice champions that Jotunheim has ever seen, apart from Great-great Grandfather Ymir, I should hope that I know enough to not do that. Right, love ?"

It confused him for a moment as to who Loki was talking to, before he felt like hitting himself, of course, Loki was talking to him, it was just that Loki hadn't called him, "Love.", before.

Rather embarrassingly, he and Fandral did have to hold onto Loki the whole way to the throne room. After they let go of Loki, the two eight-foot tall guards dressed in silver kilts, arm guards and wielding ice swords, opened the doors. Castle Jot's throne room was enormous, thirty feet tall as the thick ice of the floor was embedded with diamonds along the columned aisle and white crystals on the outer-edges of the room. Sat on the huge, black-ice throne that was studded with rubies, was a six, almost seven foot-tall, black-haired and garnet-eyed, female Jotun.

Anxiously, he watched as Loki slowly approached the Queen of Jotunheim stopping feet away from the throne to bow and say, "Hail to thee, Farabuti, Queen of Jotunheim."

Farabuti looked briefly confused by being called such and then she got up to, equally slowly as if in a dream, walk towards Loki, "None still live now that called me Farabuti, only I was called such in my young days. Where did you learn my true name ?"

"Bergelmir Thrudgelmirson, once King of Jotunheim...my Grandfather."

"B-but, oh great Ymir, h-how ? How could you have come back from Hel fully grown ? I-I saw the blood as it flowed through my hands, my little babe, my little Prince Loki was dead. M-murdered by the Allfather of Asgard."

Loki laughed mirthlessly, "Well, Mother while I was dead, it was not when I was young, but just barely. Father too knew the illusion magics of Asgard though from where he learned them I know not, he lied to you of my death. I was taken by Odin and raised amongst the Asgardians unaware of my true heritage, until two years ago."

Farabuti burst into tears that turned to ice as they flowed down her face, sobbing something he couldn't understand, she suddenly clutched Loki to her. Loki answered her just as softly before she pulled away to hand him a large, finely cut ruby.

_'What does she want him to do with that ?'_

Loki put the ruby on the floor staying crouched as a great ice sculpture of Yggdrasil formed with the, now, iced-over ruby representing Jotunheim, before a strange, blue-fire, that he'd never seen before, burst across the other branches of the World Tree.

Fandral murmured to him, "Do you know what that fire is ?"

"No, I have not a clue."

"Good, because neither do I !"

Frabauti moved around the icy Yggdrasil to stand beside Loki, apart from the difference in heights, it was easy to tell that they were Mother and son. "Your friends ?"

They moved when Loki gestured them closer, "Mother, this is my love, Thor Odinson, Prince of Asgard. Along with Fandral, Warrior of Asgard and friend of us."

Frabauti shook her head and smiled, "Nothing, but the best for my little Loki. It is my honour to meet you Odinson, Fandral."

Of course, they responded likewise, before Frabauti called, "Gaurds enter."

The two Jotnar did so and was followed by Frabauti's, "My long-lost son, Loki Laufeyson, has returned to us, bow before your Prince !"

When the two responded, "Hail Loki Laufeyson, Prince of Jotunheim.", he had to smile at Loki's half-shocked/half-delighted expression.

Himself and Fandral left with the guards so that Loki and Frabauti could talk. As they exited Castle Jot, Sif was walking towards them holding an orb that glowed with white-blue energy. _'Now, it's just my own thing that I must get. Perhaps Jane will know where I can find such a thing as a symbol of liberty.'_


	8. Thief

Loki smiled as he saw Mother and Mother talking on the steps of the Bifrost. _'Apparently, Father wanted to start a war with Asgard if he hadn't abandoned me. Your plan back-fired Father because for the first time in well over a few thousand years Asgard and Jotunheim will get along - not just because of Thor and I, but because of my Mothers and Father.'_

Father looked at both himself and Thor before once again hugging both of them. "I don't want to have to arrange another funeral for you too soon, Loki, so, be good to your father and don't die. The same goes for you, Thor, except don't start a record of dying like him."

A simultaneous, "We won't make you, Father."

Father patted them on the back before letting them go and they waved to his mothers, then turned and approached Heimdall and the Bifrost. As the Bifrost's beam disappeared in front of Jane's house, he tilted his head, something felt wrong inside the two storey, oak building. He walked up to the white-door and tried to open it with normal force, it refused to do so. At that, he turned the knob until there was a small snapping sound inside it, before he forced the door open.

Things were scattered around the white-walls and floors, paintings ripped and dishes smashed. Reached back to put a hand over Thor's mouth as he went to call for the girl. There was a noise from upstairs and they raced into the house, up the stairs then he walked into the bathroom.

_'Well, this won't do at all. But, oh this will make it so much more fun.'_

"Hello, Jane daughter of Foster, stranger."

Jane, her brown-hair still wet and wearing a fluffy furred, amethyst-colored robe was being held with a knife to the nape of her neck by a black-clad robber/marauder.

Jane looked shocked to see him and she gasped, "Loki, is...Thor ?"

As he nodded, the bigger, masked and lighter-green eyed robber sneered at him, eyeing his white-blue robes and breast-plate with disdain, "Who the fuck do you think you are, retard ?"

Returned the sneer with a glare, "Me, **me** ? You dare not know who I am ! Pathetic, little mortal, I am Loki of Asgard **and** Jotunheim ! You disgrace me with your insolence and you will show me deference."

Said robber gave a disbelieving laugh, unconsciously pulling the knife from Jane's neck. It was at that point he struck, snapping the man's wrist and twisting the knife fully away from her and flicking it into the wall, before he grabbed the man's neck in one hand and slammed the masked head into the basin so hard that it cracked.

"Now, kneel."

A mumbled, "You're a fucking dick."

His response of, "And **you** are a steaming pile of bilgesnipe waste.", was followed by a **thud** !

Jane raised her eyebrows, "What's a bilgesnipe ? More importantly, how are you alive ?! Thor said you were dead."

"It's a normally seven foot tall animal, with scales of varying dark colors, giant antlers and stupid to an almost pitiable degree...were it not so deadly. As for that, the Norns sent Mother and I back because of...Thanos." Startled as Thor's hand landed on his shoulder.

This time, thankfully, there was no visit from the Other and Thor obviously wanting to distract if not him, then Jane, asked, "Are you all right, Jane ?"

She pulled her robe tighter around herself, "Yeah, thanks to Loki. I never got to thank you for pushing me out of that grenade's way."

"What do you want to thank the air for letting you breathe next ? We cannot thank each other for **everything**."

A confused blink and for confirmation, "All I'm getting is sarcasm, Thor did he just tell me to forget about it ?"

"In many more words, but yes, he did."

Himself and Thor went downstairs so that she could change, when she came down the stairs she asked, "What are we going to do with that guy upstairs ? I mean, we can't really go to the cops because of how easily Loki beat him."

He went back upstairs to wake the robber up and decided to make it hard for the man to explain anything. Made himself look like his Jotun-self in the robber's mind as he opened his eyes. The man startled, "What the hell are you ? Some sort of Orc, except Orcs are ugly and you're pretty, I don't know what's worse. You're still ugly."

**Flashback**

Thorgil, his red-hair ruffled, snarled at him, "Loki's so ugly Queen Frigga almost fed him to a bilgesnipe just so she wouldn't have to look at him."

_'Enough of these petty insults. I've had enough of enduring these fools, they're even slower than Thor on a bad day !'_

Angry, he picked up the spear and gave Thorgil a solid thwack to the jaw, either he had hit Thorgil hard enough to shatter said spear or Thorgil's head was too thick to take the injury, he settled for the second.

Hilfr and Skaomir rushed at him, he kicked Hilfr into an oak tree and punched Skaomir into the river.

"Leave me alone or I swear I will make you regret it further."

The three picked themselves up and ran away as fast as they could.

**End Flashback**

A little tweak to make himself look Asgardian, again, "Me ? I'm nothing really. Are you sure you're okay ?"

Decided to have more fun as he inserted the illusion of his Jotun-self freezing the man's balls. He laughed heartily when the man ran out of the bathroom screaming, he made his way downstairs as he heard Thor's laughter, to see a chair askew and Thor laying flat on his back.

His love raised himself onto an elbow, "That was mean of you, Loki.", before getting up still chuckling to sit back down.

Pulled a chair closer to Thor and across from Jane to sit and repy, "Well, I am not called the trickster god for nothing. Thor why don't you explain to Jane why we came here ?"

The blond nodded and said, "We need to find a symbol of unity or liberty to give to the dwarf Andvari so that we can help Loki."

Jane rubbed a hand over her chin briefly, "What're you going to do ? Steal the Statue of Liberty."

Folded his hands on the table, "Andvari never said what size it had to be, perhaps we could find a smaller version because I seriously doubt even Andvari has the skills to make it smaller without ruining it."

"You could get one from the gift-shop there. Wait, you don't want me to bring you all the way to New York do you ?"

Thor shook his head, "No, we don't, we can use the Bifrost for that...but,"

He continued, "We do need you to pay for it as we obviously don't have any Midgardian money, or money in general."

The brown-haired woman sighed, "All right, let's get this over with. Any questions you two ?"

Let his gaze drift over the white-walls, "What exactly is an Orc ? That pile of waste called me one."

"An Orc is a Lord of the Rings character race created by J. R. R. Tolkien in the 1930-40's, they're the minions of the main bad guy. The reason that guy called you one is because you've got white-blue skin and the Orcs have dark-blue skin. Some of them ride around on Wargs, do Jotnar do that ?"

It was hard for him to restrain the urge to scowl at the ridiculousness of her unintentioned ignorance, "They would have to be incredibly large wolves for that. Especially, as the average height of current male Jotnar is six and a half to seven feet and the tallest of them being nine feet. While current female Jotnar are on average seven to eight and a half feet tall."

Tired, he lay his head down on the table and fell asleep almost immediately.


	9. New York

Thor turned to see Tony in a blue-suit as the man asked, "Hey, Reindeer Games, where's your helmet ?"

He expected slight anger, but didn't excpect Loki to counter with, "Up your ass, Stark."

The short black-haired and bearded man raised an eyebrow, "So, you still can't get it up, good to know. I should feel sorry for you. I mean what with you're being an old man and all, but, well, you did try to kill me, so, yeah, no."

Intercepted Loki when the duster-clad man launched himself at his friend; they thudded to the busy street as he wrapped his hands around Loki's dark-green/black clad wrists, so the Jotun couldn't get free as he writhed around. Loki half-snarled up at Tony, then hissed, "Let me go, Thor, he needs a lesson."

"Sorry, I don't do BDSM."

Jane who'd been walking up to them with a little statue, burst out laughing. 'What does that mean ? Why is she laughing ? This makes no sense.'

Busy people flowed around them like a river as Bruce walked up still in his white-coat, "Oh stop taunting him already, Tony, it's obvious he's had a change of heart since we last saw him."

At Bruce's words, Loki stopped struggling to look up at the scientist, "I may have changed, but you still hate yourself."

The black-haired doctor looked almost immediately uncomfortable and replied, "I-I don't **hate** myself, I just still **don't like** the other guy."

Loki, got off him, and rolled his eyes, "Yes, so you still hate yourself, just under a different name, rather like I used to hate my true parentage. If I can accept my true self, then you should be able to as well. Even if you need even more help than I myself did."

After he took a second to appreciate the fact that Loki was wearing dark-jeans and a dark-silver, long-sleeved shirt, he got up to take the little statue from Jane.

Tony broke in to Loki and Bruce's conversation, "Middle of the street isn't exactly prime territory for a therapy session. Why don't we go back to Stark Tower and then you guys can go talk about your feelings there. Deal ?"

"I should throw you out another window, Stark, maybe it would improve your attitude...and you **still** owe me that drink."

_'I'm surprised he still wants that after what just barely happened with the hot dog.'_

**Flashback**

He took a bite as Jane finished paying and took her own hot dog. Loki was just staring at his in confusion, then started poking at the meat, "The meat smells confusing, what is it made from ?"

"Cow and a pig, maybe a chicken or two, I don't know. Why do you care ?"

As they turned and started walking away from the merchant, Loki responded, "Amuothumbla knows I am not eating this unless I must. Isn't there boar anywhere or venison, something of which I know completely ?"

Jane, her dark-eyes annoyed, stated, "I'm not paying for something that expensive, eat your damn hot dog ! It's good enough for Thor, it should be good enough for you, Mr. Picky. And who the hell is Amuothumbla ?"

Now it was Loki's turn to look annoyed, but they both responded with in his case, "She is the cow who uncovered my grandfather Bor."

While Loki replied, "Amuothumbla is the one who fed my Great-great Grandfather Ymir. She is greatly revered in Jotnar culture as is great Ymir." after this, Loki finally took a small bite and made a disgusted face, but kept eating anyway.

**End Flashback**

They started the long walk to Stark Tower, he listened to Jane and Tony introduce themselves and talk. It was only a little while later that he realized that even for his love, that Loki had been quiet too long and looked behind him.

"Loki, Banner ?"

Tony asked, "What's up, Thor ?" and turned around to look too.

Loki and Bruce had disappeared.


	10. Therapy

Loki and Banner had been 'dragged' away by the four men into a red-brick alley. The Prince of Jotunheim couldn't help, but shake his head and smirk in amusement as the men pulled out smaller, hand sized guns.

_'Ha, those S.H.I.E.L.D Agents with larger guns couldn't hurt me months ago, much less so puny things as these. Idiots.'_

One of the men, with brown-hair and dressed in ripped jeans, a red-shirt and dark-glasses, hissed as the gun was aimed at himself, "All right, cough up the money."

Feinged surprise and threw up his hands, to exclaim, "Money ?! I don't have any. Whatever would I do with it ? How about you, Banner ? Do you have any ?"

Banner looked slightly shaky and nodded, "Yeah, but I don't think these punks deserve it." A detectable undercurrent of anger in the continued murmur, "Father didn't either, bastard."

_'There's something there, raising that not even the harshest of Jotnar would condone ? Like what my own Father planned for me, perhaps ? It seems that his anger and Hulk issues could be connected to that raising.'_

One of the trio fired a shot at him and, though he could have very easily dodged it, Banner pushed him out of the way. Seconds later, as Banner transformed into the Hulk, he was left inwardly cringing as the memory of being willingly, but still terrifyingly, smashed into the floor all those times that'd finally freed him from Th-thanos played through his mind.

Watched the Hulk punch the red-shirted thug through the alley's wall before suddenly the world flashed black and dark-blue/purple. For a second, he managed to resist until he was pulled to slam onto the torture platform.

Meteors flew by overhead and he looked around there was no Other this time. This time, he was all alone or so it appeared.

Thanos voice, "Do you really think that anyone, from your friends to your lover to your worst enemies, can help you escape from me ? That your **dearest** Father can save you when he was once my prisoner as well ?"

_'Father ? **Never**. That's impossible, he's too strong for that to happen. Along with the fact that Father never flinched when I said his name or looked away, it-it's not possible.'_

Laughter as Thanos read his thoughts, "Ah, you should have seen him, crying, screaming and begging me to kill him. The oh-so great Allfather broke even faster than you did, little Loki. You don't see it very often, but I broke him so greatly that he went even crazier than you. It was quite the sight as he wept when he thought he'd killed his dear Frigga. So, what makes you think he can help you ? Do you know the only reason he's so happy to see you alive now ? The only reason that is because if he showed that his feelings are still the same he would lose Thor as well, instead of just you. And he doesn't want to risk losing his only **real** son because of you."

"Shut up ! Shut up !"

_'He's trying to manipulate me and I know he's trying to by saying that. Father **does** love me !'_

His senses spun as he was violently thrown back into New York to see the Hulk leaning over him and worriedly rumbling, "Loki hurt ?", before it was Banner looking down at his prone form. An odd rushing sound filled the alley and he realized it was the sound of feet as Thor, Jane and Stark gathered around him.

"Looks like you really could use that drink now."

_'Clear ice ! And here he's supposed to be just as smart as Banner.'_

With a glare at Stark he got to his feet and growled, "Shut up before I freeze you !"

Left the four bodies as they walked out of the alley, Stark retorted, "As long as it isn't a cold shoulder."

Anger nearly made him lose control of the appearance spell as he snarled, "I. Hate. You. Stark." _'I really can understand Banner better than nearly anyone else at the moment.'_

Dimly, almost in a shock-like state, he heard Banner ask, "Loki what just happened to you ?"

They entered the stream of bodies as Thor walked right beside him taking his hand, he whispered, "Th-thanos pulled me back into the Chitauri Space, again, he said you can't do anything to help, no one can. It's driving me crazy because I can't stop it. Thor, Fa-father was one of h-his prisoners too once."

Thor ran a hand through his hair as he replied, "Of course, we can, we have to be able to, love and we will ! It'll be all right, Loki, you'll see, Father got away from him somehow and you will too, we'll make sure of it."

Stark had fallen silent as he exchanged looks with Banner, Jane was on Thor's other side as they entered Stark Tower; white-tile floors, light-wood walls, giant windows and stainless steel, light and heat were everywhere. The next thing he noticed, a drink was being put in his hand, it could've been a glass of Muspelheim's hottest fire and he still would have drunk it.

"So, how would he have 'frozen' me ? I thought he was an Asgardian."

"By his birth parents, once-King Laufey and Queen Sokki, Loki is one of the royal Jotnar of Jotunheim. He's a frost-giant, able to make ice on any surface he wishes and he's frozen beings solid before all on his own."

Banner sat down beside him, "Is that what you meant by accepting your other half ?"

He nodded and turned to the dark-eyed man, "Yes, but I had more help what with my grandfather's teaching me. Before I met my grandfather, I completely hated looking at my true self because it made me realize that nearly everything I thought I knew about myself was a lie; that everything that my bullies ever said about me was true and it still makes me slightly uncomfortable to be my true self when others are near-by, even Thor." Thor was looking worriedly at him. Slowly, he smiled, as he froze the glass, trying to reassure his love with his next words, "Then when I met my grandfather and realized that he cared for me and wanted to teach me how to control my abilities, so that I wouldn't accidentally hurt my adopted-mother or anyone else, the best route would be by accepting myself. That included trying to help me be more comfortable with my true appearance and it worked, but it took a lot of time. While, Banner, your Hulk issues have more to do with anger from your far past, which by your statement earlier, I'm assuming is with your father; along with not being able to accept that the Hulk is part of yourself, a far bigger part than you want to realize."

Banner fidgeted slightly and nodded, "My father was an **asshole** , not just physically abusive, but emotionally and financially. I hated him because he thought he was better than me, he always did ! If I did anything right, I'd get told I did it wrong and get the shit beaten out of me for correcting him. So, I stopped telling him until I got away to university and always just buried the anger, telling myself that someday I'd deal with it, but not **that** day. At least, until the other guy came along, then I tried killing myself a few times and he didn't let me. To this day, I still can't figure out why."

His gaze drifted to look out the window that he'd thrown Stark out of, the sky outside was clear and sunny, just like when he'd let in the Chitauri. Shook himself and replied, "Did you ever think that maybe when you tried to kill yourself, the Hulk stopped you, not because he hates you, but because he wants you to live to show that you're **better** than your father ? That maybe he just wants to help you ? Look at when he comes out most often, especially before you met Thor and myself, it was when you were really angry or stressed and weren't thinking clearly enough to protect yourself through being smart. So, then he took over, like he still does, to protect you until it's 'safe' to be smart again. It looks like it hurts when you change, so don't you think it would hurt less if you fully accepted the Hulk as part of yourself ?"

"Yeah, that sort o-"

Both himself and Banner startled at a woman's voice as it cut in, "Tony, what are y-, when did we get guests ?"

Looked up to see a long blond-haired woman, "You ! You tried to kill **Tony** **a-and everybody** !"

He raised his hands as she started walking over to him, "Even more than the others - I hardly was able to control myself, I only had a few seconds of control before I was crushed again under his power. It's why I stopped influencing people to do what I wanted after I was freed, because I realized just how horrible being controlled and not being able to stop was. W-when everything you think of as yourself is **screaming** at you to stop and you're just your own conscience, helpless to truly do anything. At least, until I made the Hulk throw me into the floor, which while, even for me, it did hurt a lot, it was exactly what I needed. Thank you for that Banner, you both helped me that day, more than you'll ever know. Ms. ?"

The blond woman in her cream-pant suit had stopped advancing on him, her anger gone, and was just staring at him; she replied, dumbstruck, "Potts, Pepper Potts."

"Ms. Potts, you don't know what went through my mind when I realized not only what I had been made to do, but what I'd done willingly. I'm sorry, everyone, I-I truly never wanted to hurt or kill Stark, Rogers or anyone."

Ms. Potts nodded as she looked past him at Stark and the others, he twisted to see Jane looking at Thor, who was himself looking at him, in surprise. _'Did Thor truly not tell her about what on in New York ? Was she not paying attention ?'_

Banner responded, "We can hear that...and see it quite clearly."

At that he blinked in confusion as he raised a hand to his face to feel frozen tears, looked at the floor to see that he'd unconsciously covered it in a sheet of ice.

Stark, "Well, you can't say Loki's a hot-shot anymore."

_'Why can't Stark just shut up ?'_

Thor walked over to stand behind the couch and him, "Perhaps we should get the statue to Andvari and get the ring."

"Ring ? Here I thought you and I had something, Loki. And now it turns out that you're cheating on me with Thor and you two're getting married, well,...congrats...I guess."

Blushed as he replied, "Shut up, Stark, we are not...yet, just shut up you Nornsdamned ant !"

Stark laughed guessing that Thor's eyes had widened in surprise at the, "Yet." comment. _'_ _Can we just get out of here before this gets **more** embarrassing ? I think I just may need therapy after this and lots of it.'_


	11. Andvari - Part 2

Thor watched Loki run a hand over his collar of ice while examining the empty, brown-rock forge.

He called, "Andvari ! Andvari the Smith, are you here ? We have the last items to trade."

_'Surely, I thought he would have waited for us. Considering how eager Fandral said he was to get Mother's hair and Sif's dragon-orb.'_

Loki started wandering and running his hands over the walls, "It's really too bad he'll have set a spell to curse the ring if he dies. You don't think..."

"Think what ?"

"Remember when we were really little, before we started our slight seperation, when Father would tell us stories ?"

"Like the ones about the war between the Asgardians, Jotnar and, briefly, the Svartalfar."

"Exactly, Thor, remember the one time he told us about shape-shifters ?"

**Flashback**

Found himself staring enchanted into the book as a trout turned into a dwarf and back.

Loki and himself both exclaimed, as they looked up at Father who sat on the brown-table's other side, "Father, what's that ?! Can we do that ?" They looked at each other and in Loki's eyes there was excitement, "We could go scare old Silfrasol to an honourable death !"

Father chuckled before running a hand through both of their hair, while he left his hair the way it was, Loki pouted and he smoothed it for his little brother at which Loki smiled.

"Perhaps that would be so, but not everyone can be a shape-shifter and you can, ususally, only change into one other form."

"Why is that Father ?"

Father smiled at them as Huggin and Muninn landed on the table, "Well, Loki, to be able to change ones physical form takes great personal magic and training because if you turn into a person you copy their clothes, their voice, nearly everything you need to fool someone."

He asked, "Father who is that dwarf in the picture ?"

"That is the Dwarven smith Andvari, he is very powerful and makes great relics whether they be blessed or cursed. He may turn into a fish if he so wishes to at any time, it has helped him escape many dangers."

**End Flashback**

"Do you think we need to catch him ?"

Loki stopped running his hands over the wall to pull something out of his robes - a large and shining, silver net to state, "Before we left for Svartalfheim the first time, I went to visit Ran and asked of her net which she gave. With this we should be able to catch him if he is indeed in fish-form."

_'He always thinks of near everything.'_

With that they left the forge and stretching the net across the river, waited many hours before something was caught. Loki lifted the net from the water to reveal a trout which shifted into Andvari.

"What'cha think you're doing ? Release me this second."

Splash ! Loki with a sly smile had let go of the net and Andvari, now, soaking glared at his love and spat, "Cursed offspring of Laufey thee are Loki the Trickster !"

"Well you didn't say, "Release me this second over dry land.", my mistake. I apologize Andvari."

Andvari got up to wring water out of his long, silver-beard and snapped, "Oh, sure you do, boy, sure you do ! Do you have thy mother's hair ?"

When Loki folded the net and presented the dwarf with Queen Sokki/Frabauti's hair it was, with a quick thanks, snatched away.

"What of thee, Odinson ?"

"It took us a while to find the right spot, but with help it was found." It took him a second to pull the little statue out of his tunic and hand it over.

Andvari grumbled at Loki, "Curse you, again, Laufeyson ! I wanted the big one, but as I didn't specify, I suppose this must do. Very well, I will take you to Ymir's ring, but there is one thing I...forgot to tell you about."

He looked around, before eyeing the cliff above them, "What did you forget ?"

"It'll be a dragon, no doubt, or a dark-worm."

"The very last of the last dark-elves actually."

It shocked him when Loki resorted to human swearing, "I **died** here ! Basically feet from your doorstep by a dark-elf and you decide to not fucking tell me about this !"

The strange, white-blue fire that Loki had made in Jotunheim leapt from his finger-tips as Andvari dove back into the river. Like earlier with Tony, he had to stop Loki from jumping after Andvari.

 _'Argh, it's **cold** ! I know he's a Jotun, but how can fire be cold ? That should be impossible.' _ The cold-fire stopped and ice sped over the river in quick pursuit of the smith. When the dwarf was far enough away to have to shout the ice stopped, "The ring is in Malekith's old castle, the treasure room, of course. Malekith stole it from Ymir during Ymir's war with Bor and himself."

He tried to calm Loki as Jotunheim's Prince snarled, "You're a liar, Andvari and I hope the Norns curse you !"

"What is that fire made of, love ? I've never seen anything like it before."

Loki took a few breaths before responding, "It's joteld, frost-fire, unique to direct descendants of Ymir. It's the most effective weapon the Jotnar had against the dark-elves, that's why both Ymir and Thrudgelmir nearly died during the battle with them. If I had known about it before I died, I could have saved everyone from being hurt...and myself from being killed. Unlike my father, Ymir and everyone else, including my mother truly cared or cares about their subjects, not just as warriors to die for them."

"Let us hope that it's just as deadly to the one that we have to face now."

_'Loki gets killed by a Svartalf, I kill Malekith and now we have to find Malekith's castle just to get the ring ?! This is not fair in the slightest, we have no hope of finding it by ourselves.'_

So, they left Andvari's forge and Heimdall was happy to take them back to Asgard. He needed to ask Father if Grandfather had written somewhere about Malekith's castle and Loki would ask his birth mother the same about his Great-great Grandfather.


	12. Advice

Loki followed behind the millennia old, eight and a half foot tall, scribe Grima as he looked around the thick, cloudy ice columns and at the arched, clear ceiling of the Recording Hall. The least important shelves were in the middle and the most important shelves were either recessed into the walls or, as was their destination, in Thrudgelmir's vault.

Grima stopped in front of a glacially thick, black-ice door, "Prince Loki, as the vault was sealed by the joteld only you can open it."

For some morbidly curious reason that made him ask, "What would happen if you tried to open it ?"

Grima ran a hand over his wise, wrinkled face before saying, "The energy would kill me if it sensed me. We are not permitted to enter the vault on your father's order."

"My 'father' is dead, Grima and I the one who killed him, his orders matter not anymore." He replied as he put a hand on the door, remembering Grandfather's advice about summoning joteld.

**Flashback**

"You can summon the frost-fire with any strong emotion, but anger is almost always assured to get a flame going. We're the only ones in this part of the hall, so, you can't hurt anyone, go on...try it." As he finished Grandfather held out a hand and a middling white-blue flame appeared in it.

He didn't really have to think as he pictured the look of delighted surprise when he'd beaten Thor at sparring for the first time - blond-hair messed, those blue-eyes shining as the tanned-skin flushed in pride and embarrassment.

It did surprise him how high the flame went though, from his palm to a few inches above. Disbelief flowed through him as he raised the flame to eye-level and exclaimed, "I...did it ?"

"Yes, Loki, yes, you did. That's a very good height for your first summon too."

Mother and Gunnr the valkyrie who'd brought him here walked up. Gunnr sat down in front of himself and the hall's golden wall as Mother sat beside him.

 "That is very impressive, isn't it, Gunnr ?"

"Indeed, Frigga and he's gotten used to Valhalla much easier than I thought he would. Though having yourself and Bergelmir here surely helped."

When he nodded the joteld flame flickered and died as he wondered how Thor and Father were handling things.

**End Flashback**

This time he focused on all the fear, sadness and worry that Thanos' return to his mind had caused him. The cold flame flared up the door and overflowed onto the floor before he struggled to stop it as Thanos laughter echoed in his mind. Fresh fear and anxiety flooded through him with the thought, _'He's getting closer ! We're not ready in the least.'_

Calmed as the giant door swung silently open, then he turned to look up at Grima, whose purple-kilt was dark against the white-furs and orbs in the shelves, "Do you want to see it ?"

Grima held up his hands, "No, my Prince, I couldn't. No scribe has ever-"

"Then let yourself be the first, Grima. Come, explain things to me. Like this...what is it ?" He'd strode into the rose-colored chamber and bent to pick up an orb from the lowest shelf; then let out an undignified yelp as it shocked him, "What do you think I'm Thor, you stupid thing ? I can't give you power, ouch, stop that ! Grima, why is it hurting me ?", he quickly put it back.

Hesitantly, Grima replied as he walked in, "I-it wants you to use the joteld, that is how the recording-orbs in the vault are started."

"Mother said you knew Great-great Grandfather kept the recording of his battle against Bor and Malekith."

"Yes, it's in the back on the pedestal, it was in a much lower place until King Bergelmir decided it needed an honoured place."

As he walked, he couldn't help wondering if 'father' had any of his battle with Father after Grandfather's death. That made him remember how, after he'd asked Mother and she'd responded with Grima and the Recording Hall, Thor had wanted his company to ask Father about Malekith's castle...and Thanos.

**Flashback**

They stopped in front of Father's study and Thor knocked on the door. When Father answered they entered the sunlit room, they approached the oak table and he noticed that once again Huggin and Muninn, Father's ravens, were perched on Father's shoulders.

Father looked up at them, "Did Andvari truly give you the ring so easily ?"

He shook his head, "No, Father, he did not."

Thor clenched a hand around Mjolnir as he growled, "We were told that we need to find Malekith's castle before we can get the ring and we have to defeat a dark-elf to do it. At least, Thanos doesn't have any dark-elves on his side."

This time he wasn't the only one who flinched at the name, at the same time Huggin and Muninn in response, croaked harshly and flapped their wings angrily.

A brief sigh from Father who clenched a tanned-fist on the table-top, before saying, "Loki, there is something I should have told you-"

That made him interrupt Father as gently as possible, "I already know, Father. When Thor and I were in New York with Jane and the others, Th-, he pulled me back into the Chitauri Space and told me it was impossible for you to help me, be-because you'd already been his prisoner.," He walked up to Father reaching to take his hand as he stared into familiar dark-eyes, disbelief coloring his tone, "B-but, that can't be right, how could you have been his prisoner, you're the Allfather !"

White-haired head shook as a mirthless laugh left Father's lips and the hand once again clenched into a fist under his own, "I may be now, but I wasn't always. Once upon a time, I was 'just' Odin Borson, Prince of Asgard, and very much like Thor. I was brash, barely thinking ahead, unless it was a battle plan and not even then, I had only started courting Frigga at that time. I hated the thought of having to rule Asgard, not because I didn't want my father to die, but because I hated the thought of having to order people around. I also hated the thought of only ever being remembered because of my father. So, I stole a ship and decided to leave the Worlds I knew behind me without even telling Frigga.

Somehow I ended up in a World filled with meteors and mysterious, dark-gray stone platforms and buildings that crackled with purple-energy. I was swarmed by ugly, grey-skinned beings in odd ships powered by the strange energy and when I woke up I lay shackled and manacled on a white-stone platform to a circle of the energy.

The Other pale-skinned and grey-eyed, dressed in his purple robes offered me to join **him** , of course, I refused the offer. Almost immediately, the torture started I've never known pain like that before or since, the only thing I remember before I broke completely was begging the Other to kill me. The next thing was Frigga slamming her sword's hilt into the side of my head before she blacked out. Sh-she was covered in so much blood I thought she was dead and I cried too, wishing I could have controlled myself. Somehow, somehow a Norn appeared on the platform with us, the blond one called Skuld. Skuld took us out of the Chitauri Space and near Yggdrasil. Skuld healed Frigga with her magic and Urd's Well. I figured after I was pulled back once and he told me that he wouldn't stop until I was dead, that if I wanted to stop him and keep out of my mind, I needed a spell powered love and life - the most powerful spell that I'd ever never heard of...yet. Skuld told me I had a good idea, but even if I knew the spell nothing would be powerful enough to hold the spell, except, perhaps, an oak branch that had been dipped in the well.

When Frigga woke I told her that I planned to sacrifice an eye so that I could have the knowledge to try and stop him. I met Huggin and Muninn when I was searching for the oak branch, they told me that he was connected to his name and could pull anyone he wished into Chitauri Space if they thought or remembered it, but that if they 'thought' or 'remembered' it he would not bother with them. So, Huggin became my thought and Munnin my memory until I completed the spell and they offered to stay with me and help me. It was my own fault I was tortured by him and I never dreamed that one of my sons would be picked by him to continue it. If I had never fled Asgard, he wouldn't have targeted you, Loki." Father gave him a remorseful look as he stopped talking.

_'Connected to his name ? Thank the Norns that he never pulled Thor in then. I just wish we could stop him, not just his mind-control.'_

That made him shake his head, "No, Father, he would have found me anyway even without you. We should be glad that he never found out about the Tesseract while Laufey was King of Jotunheim or we would have been doomed. Father there must be someway to get rid of him, but first we need to find my Great-great Grandfather's ring, before anyone has a hope of facing him."

Father pulled his hand away to nod, "Your Grandfather, Thor, had an orb that followed him into battle so that he could see what he did wrong later. After Malekith had fled and Ymir had left, Bor looked for Malekith's castle, but the orb cuts out before they reach the castle if I remember correctly."

Thor let out a huffed, "Well, I will look for it anyway as Loki is going to look at Jotunheim's records.", before bowing to Father, turning and leaving.

"We will find the rest of the stones for the Infinity Gauntlet, Loki, it's one of the only things that can truly stop him or has a hope to at any rate."

**End Flashback**

Grima held out a hand as he nearly walked into the pedestal. The orb was just like another on the shelves in appearance, but this one meant so much more than the other ones. _'It's time to see what you saw Great-great Grandfather. Please don't disappoint me.'_


	13. Fury

Thor grabbed Loki's sleeve before the Jotun could fully enter the Bifrost chamber. Loki turned to him with a faintly worried expression, determined to get rid of said expression, he pulled the black-haired man into a deep kiss. Green-eyes blinked before they drifted half-shut as slightly paler hands tangled into his hair.

They seperated both blushing at Heimdall's half-serious/half-laughed response, "You two won't be gone for **that** long, there is no need to defile the Bifrost chamber."

Reluctantly, they both let go of the other before Loki mumured, "I always loved you more than I should have too, Thor, and I still do."

_'He heard that ?! Here I thought it was too late and yet, just maybe, it was the right time after all.'_

"You heard me ?"

"No, I'm just mimicking something I heard in Valhalla, love." A hand reached out to gently brush over his cheek, "Of course, I heard you, Thor, I didn't know if I wanted to go with Gunnr and then you said you loved me. Even though you wouldn't have known that I loved you too, I decided that it would be okay to leave since you had precious Jane still. Hmm, you should have seen Mother's reaction when Gunnr and I arrived."

_'Doubtless, she went temporairily insanse with happiness if that's a thing. It would certainly be in Mother's skill-set.'_

He chuckled, "It would have been entertaining. I love you, Loki, now go before Heimdall gets even more annoyed at us."

The dark-golden eyed Bifrost Gaurdian had a distant look in his eyes as if he were concentrating on far away as he opened the portal. When Loki had gone and the portal was still open, it worried him that Heimdall still had that distant look.

Slowly, he walked up to put a hand on the golden-armoured man's shoulder. "Is something wrong, Heimdall ?"

Heimdall startled and shook his head, "No, I was listening to Midgard to some of your Avenger friends and a man called Fury. Apparently, Loki and Queen Frigga were not the only ones that the Norns thought had been killed too early, the man who is Coul's son is alive as well. They started celebrating and then your friends Banner and Stark mentioned **him**. Fury is concerned that **he** will go after Earth and wants to know if we will need assistance. I would recommend that you answer him before you go to look at King Bor's recordings."

_'Coulson is alive as well ? That will have made Tony very happy. Loki will most likely want to apologize to Coulson as well. Ah, I should tell Fury and the others of Loki's return as well, it's only proper.'_

Fury didn't look surprised when he walked out to stand beside the table in the dark-silver control room of the flying, not-space, ship, "Nice of you to join us, Thor."

He nodded to the dark-skinned man, then looked around at Tony, Bruce who sat at the table and...Coulson, then he walked over to embrace the black and white clothed human. "It is good to see you, again, friend Coulson. I am glad the Norns realized their mistakes, if Loki knew you had come back as well I'm sure he would like very much to apologize to you."

Fury growled, his long black-coat swishing as he started circling the table, " **Loki** ! Stark, Banner ! Why didn't you tell me he was back ? Thor, why would these 'Norns' bring him back and, more importantly, would he want to apologize ? He seemed pretty damned happy when he killed Phil. I don't care if he's your adopted brother, Thor, he's an asshole who enjoyed killing my men."

As he pulled away from the pale man to turn and defend his love, he noticed Coulson blush at Fury's protective tone, "Loki too was being mind-controlled when he killed Coulson, he broke-down as he admitted it. He never wanted to kill your men, but he was forced too and he regretted it dearly. Six months ago, Loki died defending me from a dark-elf that would have killed us both. Now that he is back, he is quite firmly on our side as Tony and Bruce can vouch."

"Is it true ?"

"Yep, Loki cried himself to ice-tears after Pepper shouted at him. He's still arrogant sometimes, but he's definitely changed since he died. Hell, he was trying to help Bruce accept the Hulk when Pepper interrupted them. Right, Bruce ?"

The scientist nodded, drumming his fingers on the table-top, "He iced the **whole** of Tony's floor and part of the **elevator cables !** Fury, he really has changed and he needs help because of this Th-"

"Don't say his name, we don't need any of you getting pulled in the Chitauri Space as well. He has vowed to destroy everything Loki cares about for his 'failure', and since he cares for me and I for earth eventually he will come here, he can do it as well. All the armies of Asgard and of Jotunheim would not be enough to stop him and the Chitauri both, we all need help and as he has lost the Tesseract, if he wishes to attack he must attack Asgard. If we fall be sure that he will re-take the Tesseract and go after you."

_'At least, if we had their help, even if die, which we may, we could weaken him enough so that someone else may defeat him. Perhaps it would even be little Loki to avenge us all.'_

Before the shorter black-haired man could continue, Fury barked, "Hill !"

Said black-haired woman approached to stand below the table and called up, "Yes, Director ?"

"Find the rest of the team, we've got a little problem on the way and Asgard needs our help."

"Right away, Director."

With that done Fury turned to look at him his grey-eye slightly curious, "Now, what's with all this 'Loki and ice' business ?"

Tony interjected as he wandered from his chair to stare at one of the walls, "Apparently, Loki is a Jotun, a frost-giant. It explains why he was cold to Cap and myself on the helicopter, nicely doesn't it ?"

"Shut up with your damn puns, Stark. So, Thor I'm guessing that this 'Jotunheim' is their home-world ?"

He nodded and started pacing around the table, "Yes, it is and though Queen Sokki, that is Loki's birth mother, has sworn her support to us we can only hope to gain more even more allies to save us all."

"You said nine 'Worlds' right ?"

"Yes, what of it ?"

"Get some of the other Worlds to help too. Don't they owe you a favour for saving their asses from Marauders ?"

Distractedly, he nodded again, "I must be going, but, I will see if Hogun can get Vanaheim to help us.", and turned walking into the Bifrost's beam before they could respond.

As he walked back over the rainbow bridge starting for the Records Hall, Heimdall called, "I have many friends on Alfheim, I'm sure they would be happy to help us."

_'Truly, Asgard is lucky to have so many friends. There **is** hope to survive this, we **will** survive it !'_

 


	14. Orb

Loki tilted his head as he picked up the orb, there was something inscribed beneath it on the pedestal itself. Impulsively, he dropped his hand onto the ice, white-blue fire raced around the surface to form a picture of Father and....Fenrir, his Angrboetha-born Fenrir Lokison eating Father.

 _'When Ymir fathered the six-headed Jotun Bergloki, did he think his son was a monster ? Barely any of my kids look related to me at all, oh, the things I did to try and get over Thor. All I ended up doing is fathering a giant wolf, a great sea serpent and the only Jotun-like one of my brood, dear little Hel. Fenrir, Jormungandr and Hel, my children that I hide from Thor for fear he would kill Fenrir before Ragnarok. Before when I thought Father hated me, I cared not that Fenrir would kill Father, but now we need all the help we can get. If I can find Fenrir and Jormungandr surely they will help their father, even Hel would come to help as he threatens everyone and everything we know - now that we have something to bring us together Ragnarok isn't needed.'_  

He shook himself out of the thoughts, the fire had spread through the hall's ceiling revealing more of the Ragnarok images and got back to business. Raised Ymir's orb to eye-level and the joteld flared up around it. A twenty-five foot Jotun with flame-bright, ruby-eyes picked up the orb and threw it into the air where it hovered...

Ymir eyed the dispersing throngs of his Jotnar and Bor's Asgardians down below him. _'That Amuothumbla cursed Malekith, I will get my ring back !'_

Then he walked along the cliff, ignoring his wounds as he followed the trail of blood over the dark-ground. It was too bad that damned Algrim had dragged Malekith away from him after he stabbed the dark-elf king and after said dark-elf had stolen his ring. The ring that was the most powerful thing he'd ever made alongside his Casket. 

Passed a waterfall that was topped with two twisted dragon-horn like rocks, into a tall and twisted ebony-wood forest. The undergrowth made it impossible for him to see the blood trail until he covered it in ice and the blood became visible again.

Time passed without seeming to in the dark world as he found a single white-tree to sit under and rest. _'What was that ?'_ He formed an ice sword as he shouted, "Who goes ?"

Brown/black-haired and tan-skinned Bor with his pretty, dark-eyes walked up, "It is I, Bor as you Amuothumblajarson. How goes thy hunt for Malekith the Coward ?"

"The trail is hard to find, but I feel as though it is close to an end. Whilst thou join me, little Black Boar ?"

Bor's spear Gungnir slung on his back as the small Asgardian sat beside him, "Aye, Frost as we did before this. Malekith injured you !"

"Tis nothing, you know that as do thy brothers."

"My brothers care not for you in any way." Bor cursed Malekith mightily and refused to stop pestering him until he had allowed the Asgardian to bind the cut on his right-arm. _'How would my life have been had dear  Amuothumbla not found thee O Bor ? Bland as the sheer darkness and mist in which I was born one should think. What terrible fate awaits for he and I that not we see ?'_

They ate and talked shortly before resuming the hunt for the coward, when they reached a giant cavern it had been blocked with boulders so large that not even he with all his strength could move, nor even Bor and himself together. Held in place with some dark magic or such no doubt...

It confused Loki when the orb just stopped and he shook it, sure that there must be more, but nothing showed up. _'Were they the same as Thor and I ? That terrible fate - Ymir murdered not only by Bor's brothers, but by Bor himself to become Midgard. Did Bor regret having to do it ? Was he lied to by his brothers as my Great-great Grandfather was not liked by them ?'_

Gently, he put the orb down, turned and walked out of Thrudgelmir's rose colored vault before locking it again. Whether or not Thor had also been successful, he now knew the way to Malekith's castle.


	15. Wolf

Thor brandished Mjolnir as an impossibly great, shaggy black-furred, four-legged shape bounded out of the forest crushing many trees and shaking the rocky ground as it did. The wolf's head lowered and huge, yellow-eyes glared down as it stood over them.

A rough voice came through the wolf's drool-covered, sword-sized teeth, "Who art thee, strange smelling one ?", his hackles raising.

_'I-it talks ? Why does it call me strange ?'_

Before he could respond, Loki called, "Stay thyself O dear Fenrir. Thor Odinson, Prince of Asgard, is my mate."

_'Why would Loki call him 'dear' ? It makes not sense at all.'_

He turned to Loki and exclaimed in shock, "L-loki, y-you know this **beast** ?"

Loki suddenly fiddled with a strand of his hair, "Fenrir is not a 'beast' Thor. Fenrir, Fenrir is...he is my son ! The first of my three children."

_'H-he has **children** ! How can Fenrir be a **wolf** !? A gigantic-Nornscursed-wolf ! What could birth such a being ? How could my beautiful Loki create something as huge and monstrous looking, ah, something like Fenrir.'_

The world spun just before he, very understandable, passed out from shock. When he awoke, Loki was carrying him, it felt very odd to be carried, especially by someone who looked so much smaller than Father.

**Flashback**

Dimly, he heard Loki's worried voice, "Father, Father, Thor's not going t-to die is he ? I don't want him to die."

His body vibrated as Father repressed a laugh and gave a soft reply, "Let me assure you, he is not going to die, Loki. It's just a head wound that Healer Hilde can fix soon enough."

When something tightened around his hand he realized that Loki held it and he opened his eyes to see the other boy smile faintly in relief.

**End Flashback**

Even though he tried, he couldn't hold back the shudder as Fenrir loomed over Loki's shoulder. Realized that they were now in the same ebony-wood forest as Grandfather Bor and Loki's Great-great Grandfather Ymir.

_'We must be close now, I think we just past that white tree, even though it's a stump now.'_

He swung himself out of Loki's arms to ask Fenrir, "You, you are the Fenrir from Ragnarok."

Fenrir looked from himself down at his father, "Yes, but Father says that if can prove ourselves trust-worthy to Asgard and the other worlds that we will have no need of Ragnarok, Odinson. After we are done with the ring, Father and I are going to get Jormandgr from Midgard's ocean."

"Dare I to ask, but who is Jormandgr ?"

Loki laughed slightly, "You will see, love, you will see. We are close to the castle entrance from what Fenrir remembers of it."

That made him look up at the black-furred wolf who ducked his head under the thinning trees branches, "Why do you live here, Fenrir ?"

Fenrir huffed and replied, "I have no place else I can live in peace. All other places I have been driven from because of my size and what I was 'supposed' to do in the future. Here there are there are still fire-dragons to kill and eat, I will not run short of food for a long time that is why I live here."

Eventually, they emerged near blocked off cave, Fenrir sneezed and snarled, "It smells like Svartalf, again. I hate that thing, it steals my food when I sleep."

"By all means, Fenrir, destroy the wall and kill the thrice accursed Svartalf when you find him."

So it was that Fenrir set about ramming the wall with his shoulder and smashing it with his paws until the wall exploded inward with a mighty crack. That was when Fenrir growled and started running into the darkness along the winding gray-stone paths. They followed as fast as they could. All they heard of the dark-elf's death was deep growls and screams of pain that faded quickly. It didn't surprise him when they entered it that Malekith's treasure room was enormous.


	16. Angrboetha

Loki as he sifted through Malekith's stolen treasure, looked over at Fenrir who'd resumed his eight-foot Jotun-form. _'Now that I know my own true form, with his dark-ruby eyes and black-hair he truly does look more like me than Angrboetha.'_

While Fenrir had been growing in Angrboetha he'd been switching from his Jotun to wolf-form, his son had hit the snow as a giant wolf-cub before shifting into Jotun-form. _'How proud was I that he was a shape-shifter too ? Fenrir and Jorgmungandr, all of my children, but Hel and she needs it not.'_

Remembered when he'd first met Angrboetha...

**Flashback**

He looked around at the cherry trees swaying in the breeze, suddenly a gigantic gust of cold wind whistled through the clearing. A seven foot tall being, that by her white-blue skin could only be a female Jotun, ran out of the trees bleeding heavily from her side and pursued by a dark-blue skinned, red-eyed beast.

The Jotun ran around the edge of the lake, but the beast skidded into the lake with a surprised roar/growl. Its weight too much to buoy it and not knowing to swim, the beast quickly sank in the center of lake.

Meanwhile, the Jotun had tripped and crashed down beside him. Dark-rose colored eyes looked up at him from under a curtain of dark-blond hair, "Help me, please, I beg of thee ! **I don't want to die** !"

For a second, he just stared at her dumbly, _'Father said...forget what Father said, he hates me and, doubtless, he would hate her as well. Help her because Father would hate it if he knew a living Jotun had walked in Asgard.'_

Reached out and took another second to shift her shape into that of an Asgardian. _'She's bleeding too much, if it doesn't get tied off it won't matter.'_ As she got up, pressing a hand to her side and looking in awe at how much different things were from this height, he pulled off his tunic and tore strips from it to bind the giant wound.

"My name is Angrboetha Haettrdottir."

"Loki, Loki Odinson."

Angrboetha laughed as she leaned on him, "Trust my luck to be saved a son of Odin."

They had nearly reached the healing wing when Thor and Freida ran up to them. Thor stared from him to Angrboetha and back in silence. As Freida, her skin pale with worry, asked, "Loki what happened to her ?"

"She was attacked by a beast, now my little friend, kindly move Angrboetha is in great danger."

When they finally reached the healing wing and Healer Hilde, the old healer looked quite surprised at Angrboetha before shaking it off. As the healer went to work, himself and Angrboetha talked about their families and lives - over-bearing brothers, distant Fathers and helpful Mothers, mixed in with cruel bullies and viscious taunting.

After her healing was done, he'd taken her back to the secret passage in the cherry-tree forest and after restoring her Jotun-form as she was staring at him, Angrboetha reluctantly left. They visited each other often whether in Asgard or Jotunheim and after Fenrir was born he'd sworn that he would be a better Father than his own. No matter that Fenrir could turn into a giant wolf or that later on Jormungandr would turn into a sea-serpent and dearest little Hel was far smaller than her brothers - whenever he could get away from Asgard he would help to raise them properly until they were old enough they needed him and Angrboetha not at all.

**End Flashback**

Startled from his memory by Fenrir's excited, "Father, Father I think I found it !"

Immediately, himself and Thor both joined his first son as the Jotun lifted a gigantic ring made of thick ice and carved with Jotrita or frost-runes. "Fenrir you know my grasp of Jotrita is weak, what says it ?"

"For mine kin to this be worn know the frost's fire is our life and our rule."

Fenrir stooped to hand it to him and he took it with a bit of eldjot already blazing in his palm, slowly the giant ring shrunk until it looked like it would fit him. Thor took it from him with a chuckle and slid it on for him.

They went to visit Andvari before Heimdall would send down the Bifrost. Fenrir entered the forge first, his height and bulk looking enormous even in the brown-rock cavern, "Hello little dwarf."

Andvari looked very small and terrified as himself and Thor followed, " **W-who** are you ? W-what d-do y-you want ?"

Pride flowed through him at Fenrir's next words, "I am Fenrir Lokison and I do not appreciate your lying to my father or to anyone. What would happen to you if it t'was found that Andvari the Smith is a liar ?"

Andvari begging, tears flowing into his silver-beard, "Please, please, you can't tell anyone, I'll be ruined forever ! Take that armour over there by the wall if you wish, just don't tell anyone."

He asked as his gaze drifted to the Jotun-sized, onyx and steel breast-plate that was leaned against the wall, then to glare at Andvari, "Did you put curse or blessing upon it ? I will not have my firstborn dying because of your petty hatred for my blood."

"It's fine, it's fine, I swear it by the Norns ! There is no spell upon it for good or ill, j-just leave me alone."

Fenrir ran a hand through his hair, before walking to pick up the breast-plate, then they left the forge and walked out of the waterfall right into the Bifrost beam. As they walked into the Bifrost chabmer and saw the rainbow bridge, the thought, _'My, my, things certainly got busy didn't they ?'_ , entered his head.


	17. Shock

Thor couldn't believe how **busy** the bridge had become - his and Loki's Aunt Freyr, Queen of Vanaheim, and Uncle Harold, King of Vanaheim, were stood in front of the Bifrost chamber. Along with the rest of the Avengers, Fury and Coulson along with Hill. Then, in the far distance, he could see the light-blond haired and pale-skinned Ljolsoalfar or light-elves from Alfheim and a group of Jotnar ahead of the Alfar.

How Aunt Freyr didn't startle at seeing Fenrir he would never know, but himself and Loki were quickly pulled into embraces. Loki murmured, "Y-you're not scared of me Aunt Freyr ?"

The dark-brown haired, pale-skinned woman scoffed slightly, "Loki you've always been my favourite nephew. If only for the fact that you actually wanted to be there, unlike Thor and then your trips to learn magic from both your mother and myself. So, we don't care that you're a frost-giant. I'm sure Thor didn't mind either, right Thor ?"

**Flashback**

He stared at the painting he'd stolen out of Mother and Father's room. The only painting they had that was just of Loki by himself. Freida hadn't taken the news of Loki's death any better than he had for the first few days.

Father walked into Loki's old room, "Thor, there is something that I never told you about Loki."

"It matters not, Father, Loki is gone."

Father sat down on the, still faintly lavender smelling, bed beside him. A hand lifted his chin and tilted his head, "Yes, Thor it matters. It is the whole reason that Loki tried to destroy Jotunheim."

_'Why did he want to destroy it ? What could make him when we were only there once ?'_

The tanned, white-haired head shook, "It was not just one time, it was more. The reason Loki tried to destroy Jotunheim is because he found out he was born a Jotun."

Again, he looked from Father back to the painting and tried to picture Loki as a white-blue skinned and red-eyed Jotun, just like Laufey and the others - it refused to become real. Disbelief had him laughing aloud, "Loki ? Loki a Jotun ? That sounds ridiculous, Father, grief has made you mad."

"Years ago, when I invaded Jotunheim, I decided to take a look around. I found a temple, inside that temple laying on an altar was a tiny Jotun baby. That baby was left to die from exposure to the cold - Jotnar are born for the cold, Thor, it would have taken weeks for the poor thing to die and I couldn't stand to let that happen, not even to a Jotun. I had a feeling that I knew just whose baby it was too, Laufey's, the baby would be far too small for his liking, so to both save a life and to spite Laufey I stole that baby. He became your little brother Loki, with neither of you knowing any better for many years...until you went to Jotunheim."

_'That, that is not possible. Father is insane, it can't be true...can it ? He always seemed slightly colder than whatever room we were in.'_

**End Flashback**

He couldn't help fidgeting with Mjolnir's strap, "It took me a while to believe it, but no I didn't mind in the end."

Uncle Harold turned his attention to Fenrir, "Are you of Loki's children, son ?"

"Fenrir Lokison of Ragnarok fame."

"Ooo, really ? Can we see your wolf form then ?"

Despite the fact that he'd seen Fenrir shift from wolf to Jotun, it startled him to see Fenrir shift into his wolf form.

Steve stated, "Now, now I really have seen everything ! Schmidt would go crazy, well, even crazier if he saw that."

His gaze moved from the shocked blond man to Fury's only slightly raised eyebrow. _'What does it take to surprise Fury ? Does truly nothing surprise him, not even this ? We would have been so lucky had the man been an Asgardian.'_ Coulson looked very much terrified, while Hill looked about to faint before black-haired Natasha caught her.

Bruce chuckled, "Looks like you'd be a good sparring partner for Hulk, Fenrir."

"What does thee mean, O little one ?"

On the far side of the bridge beside Bruce and Tony, Clint who had been shocked into silence, gasped as Fenrir talked whilst Coulson passed out.

Loki moved past their black-clad Aunt and Uncle to Coulson's side to startle him awake with a cold-shock. Coulson pushed himself up as Fenrir laughed at the reactions he'd caused. Walked up to stand beside Loki, Coulson and Nastasha with Hill in her arms.

Watched as Loki shifted and ice spread width wise across the bridge, he brushed a hand over Loki's back.

Heard Tony say, "Loki's pissing himself again. Ouch, what it's basically true, Bruce."

"Well, shut up for once."

Loki ignored the others, "I know it will not make up for my killing you, but **I'm sorry** , Coulson, it was never my intention."

Coulson got up and...punched Loki in the face, "Apology accepted." While the short black-haired human shook out his hand, "My hand just went numb.", Loki had the grace to hold his uncomfortable look for a few seconds.

Finally, himself and Loki excused themselves from his friends to go see Father about his putting the spell on Ymir's ring. For all the things that they along with Fandral and Sif had done, it took mere minutes after they entered the golden throne-room for Father to put the spell on Ymir's ring. It shocked him that there was no spectacular flash of light or anything dramatic like he had expected when said spell was completed, and Father returned the ring to Loki quickly.

_'Today we show the others around Asgard, introduce them to Sif, Hogun and Fandral, and if Loki wishes to disturb her, Freida and little Loki. For tomorrow we go to Midgard and look for Jorgmungandr. Perhaps Fury will be willing to help us with his ship.'_


	18. Serpent

Stood in the raging storm on an ice flow off the coast of Norway, Loki was with Thor, Angrboetha and Fenrir calling for Jormungandr. _'Hel will show up in her own time for the fight against Thanos. Thanos, Thanos, Tha-anos, you can't get me you stupid bastard !'  
_

Himself, Angrboetha who had gone to Asgard with the first unit of Jotnar yesterday, and Thor called, "Jormungandr ! Jormungandr Lokison !"

All the while Fenrir shouted, "Jor, Jor, O Joretha, we're waiting !"

_'How many times have I told him, " **Don't** taunt your little brother." Children, they hardly ever listen when you want them too. Now I know how Father and Mother felt raising Thor and I.'_

Behind the ice flow was the heli-carrier, briefly he twisted to look up at giant, grey bulk where most of the crew was braving the storm and hoping to see his youngest son, Jormungandr the World-serpent.

_'I wonder if Jormungandr sneaks up on us will it **finally** shock Fury ? At least, he finally stopped calling me, "Real Power." Skuld knows, that makes me sound so much **more** arrogant than I actually am. Well, I still am, just **not nearly** as much as I used to be.'_

As he turned back, he saw a black/green shape on the far horizon briefly light by a lightning flash, before it dipped below the rough waves. Jormungandr being nearly as crafty as himself, and all three of them having been subject to a trick of the Jormungandr's at one point or another, turned to face the heli-carrier.

Thunder crashed as the sea-serpent was suddenly coiling himself around the ship with a gigantic roar. Jormungandr's teeth flashed as the gigantic ribbed snout pulled back, the black/green head, as the bright-silver eyes glowed in mischief, lowered to loom over the deck, as the four of them jumped back onto the ship, not wanting to miss whatever would happen next.

What happened next - one of the most hilarious things he'd seen in his life, besides Thor and that cake disaster with Eorl the Baker, Jormungandr batted his ear-fins and gigantic eyelashes coyly down at Fury.

Said bald man started backing away before Jorgmungandr's black-fin tail wrapped around him and pulled Fury into the air, then the man was covered in a deluge of whale-smelling ocean-water as Jormungandr attempted to kiss the man close-mouthed. The even more hilarious and unbelieveable, almost impossible, reaction when his son put Fury down - **the man finally blacked out !**

Shocked silence before a roar of laughter and noise. The noise mostly some variant of, "Fury passed out, he actually passed out ! Damn, never thought I'd live to see the day." or, "I'm telling my grandkids that Serious Man finally passed out, they love the stories about him even more than my own."

He glared up at Jormungandr, "What did I tell you about randomly kissing people, especially when you look like yourself ?"

Jormungandr returned to his nine foot Jotun-form which was dark-blond haired and dark-rose eyed just like his mother. _'I'd like to know why all of my male children have hair. Why did I get hair when hardly any other male before me did and why do my boys have it ? Hel with her being female I can understand.'_ Hel's hair was a mixture of his black streaked with Angrboetha's blond and her eyes were Grandfather Bergelmir's warm garnet.

Before Jormungandr could reply Fenrir punched his little brother off the heli-carrier. His middle child replied, as he pulled himself back to the ice flow and jumped back up on deck while Thor commanded the natural rain to stop, "To not too, but it's fun and you did it when you were younger !"

Angrboetha smacked the back of his head, "Tell Thor that you did it."

Thor looked confused and then dawning realization, "You were 'Sif' weren't you Loki ?"

**Flashback**

Shifted into Sif's form, he approached Thor, ghosting a hand over thick, tanned muscles of his 'brother's back.

Thor spun around to face him looking surprised and slight dissapointed when he saw 'Sif', "Did you want something, Sif ?"

He shifted his weight, looking slightly at the ground and back at Thor, "I just wanted to," _'Ruin any chance that Sif has with you.'_ , "say th-that I love you, Thor."

Before Thor could reply he dug a hand into the blond's side and pulled him into a kiss. It was genuinely funny when Thor pushed him away to say, "I-I don't feel the same way, I'm sorry Sif."

"Who is it Hilfasol ? Someone else ?"

Blond-hair rippled as Thor nodded, "Someone else."

"Well, well fine !"

Barely kept himself from bursting out laughing until he was out of Thor's sight and resumed his own form.

**End Flashback**

Managed a sheepish grin, "Yes, yes, I was."

For some reason, Thor burst out laughing, "So, I got what I wanted all along and I didn't even know it because it was, yet again, one of your tricks."

Jormungandr murmured, as he walked up to stand over Fury and Coulson glared at his son, "Maybe he needs someone to wake him up."

"Stop right there, young Jotun. After that trick you just pulled, Jormungandr, you are grounded for a **thousand** years. That goes for you too, Fenrir, you had no reason to punch your little brother."

Fenrir glared at Jormungandr, "This is your fault !"

"No, it's your fault."

Angrboetha snapped, "Both of you, **be quiet** and listen to your father."

Sulked replies of, "Yes, Mother."

Fury rumbled as Coulson helped him up, "You keep your crazy kids from kissing me again, Real Power, and we'll get along just fine. Now, let's all go inside and get dried off - drinks are on me."

Whilst himself, Thor and the humans could go through the regular doors, Angrboetha, Jormungandr and Fenrir had to go down below on the plane doors, because the storage area it was the only place they would fit.

After Thor got a cup of 'hot chocolate' on Barton's recomendation before they went down to see how the others were doing. He and Thor sat on the floor against the grey-wall, Fenrir asked, "Father do you remember when you, Hel and I killed that Ottikivkvendi ?"

"Yes, I used an illusion to lure it out, before yourself and Hel started killing it with the ice-swords all by yourselves. One of my proudest moments, all the while Jormungandr was being taught to take care of his hair because he went exploring instead of staying at home and listening first."

Fenrir laughed and Jormungandr responded, "If I had, but known what you would do afterwards instead of your keeping it a secret, I would not have run off, Father."

"Doesn't that sound like us, Thor ?"

He turned to look at his love and smiled to see that Thor had fallen asleep. _'Aww, that's so cute. Hmm, we'll all need as much sleep as we can get before Thanos shows up, whenever that will be.'_


	19. Kidnapped

Thor was startled to discover little Loki sitting in front of his and, now, Loki's room. He crouched down as he noticed the little blond baby neared tears. _'How did she get here ? Freida would not leave her alone. I know she cannot answer, but still I must try. Oh, if only Father would come surely he could help somehow.'_

"What is it, Loki ? Is something wrong ?"

Old Thorgil's voice was suddenly shouting hoarsely, "Loki, Loki Freidajardottir ?"

"Here Thorgil, she is here. What has happened ?"

The white-haired man ran up the hallway towards him to scoop up Loki protectively. Thorgil shook himself from his stupor, "Prince Thor ! Oh, thank the Norns, these, these gray-skinned things...th-they kidnapped Freida ! They're not getting Loki too, I'll kill them all first !"

_'The Chitauri have arrived, which means that he too has arrived ! Norns let Freida live through this, surely you could not let little Loki grow without knowing her birth mother. Loki would be heart-broken if she was killed, he would blame himself for this I know.'_

Loki's angry voice behind his shoulder, "Curse the Chitauri and Norns send thrice accursed Thanos straight to Hel !"

He turned to press a light kiss against Loki's lips before responding, "If it takes all our lives that terror will die today."

While Loki's voice had been angry, those green-eyes were full of guilt already. All three of them raced for Father's indoor throne room, before they even reached it they could hear the angry voices. The room was full - Asgardians, Jotnar and Alfar along with the rest of the Avengers, Fury and Coulson with Hill all packed into the golden room. Fenrir and Jormungandr were among the Jotnar present as was Angrboetha.

_'Nearly everyone who was recruited to join us is here.'_

When Father stood up the angry voices faded to respectful silence, and then Father spoke, "In all my time as the Allfather and King of Asgard, never have I seen so diverse and yet so willing an army of beings from all the Worlds of my friends. All of you have come here to help us, and give your lives, to protect the universe from Thanos the Dreaded and to that I say hail !"

A unified roar of, " **Hail !** " from everyone, even the Midgardians.

Father continued, "You have heard that the Chitauri wait above us, they have kidnapped Freida Thorgildottir of Asgard and demand that someone goes to exchange themselves for her safe return. Who among you is willing to do this ?"

An even louder, echoing roar of, "I will, Majesty !"

"Well, I cannot send **all** of you that wouldn't be fair to the poor Chitauri."

Both genuine and nervous laughter swept through the room at Father's joke, it fell silent as Loki was suddenly striding down the aisle through the parting crowd to kneel in front of the throne.

Loki's voice already quiet, was even more solemn than normal, "I, Loki Sokkijarson, Prince of Jotunheim, volunteer to do so if the Allfather will allow me."

Father descended from his throne to put a hand on Loki's shoulder, "Rise, O Prince of Jotunheim, I pray the Norns to smile on thee with success and honour." Loki rose as Father wondered, "Is there yet no other who will fight alongside us ?"

"I, Hel Lokidottir, Queen of Helheim, my army and the armies of the Valkyries and Valhalla will fight alongside of thee, Allfather."

He turned to see a black, blond-streaked, barely six foot female Jotun in white leather and mail, along with a nine foot tall, blond female Jotun in golden and silver leather and mail strode into the throne room. Behind Hel arranged in the hallway was a motley army assembled from across all Nine Worlds, amongst them of note in the front was a ten foot tall Jotun and old Silfasol.

"Hail and welcome to thee, Queen Hel Lokidottir. Hail and welcome to thee Norn and Valkyrie Skuld Skaoijardottir."

_'Now, now, with all this support we **will** triumph over him.'_

Knew that he could not be the only one smiling as he silently counted and noticed that the size of the combined armies could barely be imagined.


	20. Plan

Loki couldn't believe just how many legends he was leaving behind in the vault, three of them to be exact - Grandfather Bergelmir, Great-great Grandfather Ymir and Thor's Grandfather Bor. Grandfather Bergelmir called after him, "Be careful Loki, I don't want to see you in Valhalla again for a **very** long time."

"I will, Grandfather, no need to worry of that." Still nervously, he twisted Great-great Grandfather's ring on his finger, _'Today could be the day to be free of Thanos forever, the day that neither Father, I, nor anyone else ever has to fear from that thing as well. Off to the Chitauri I go, dear Skuld, please let this 'plan' work.'_

When he exited the weapons vault, Thor and the Avengers were waiting for him with the S. H. I. E. L. D. Agents and Fury.

Banner stepped forward with a concerned look in his eyes, "Loki, you don't have to do this alone. Illusion us or what have you and let us come with. You'll have a better chance then."

He moved forward as well to grasp Banner's forearm, "I couldn't do that in good conscience, it's my fault that you all have to be here in the first place." That he said looking at everyone else. "I wouldn't make you risk yourselves more than you already are, when you've all forgiven me more than I've forgiven myself when I didn't deserve it."

Stark stepped forward to grasp forearms too, "Well, Thor can't marry himself and I'll be pissed if I don't get one of the first invitations. If that happens I'm crashing the wedding and you'll never hear the end of it." The brown-haired inventor gave him a mock-jealous look.

That made him and everyone else, yes even Fury, laugh. After he looked at Thor, "Would you mind very much if my jealous ex-boyfriend showed up, love ?"

"As long it doesn't end in another, "Loki. Smash.", I care not. After all, everyone else will be coming."

More laughter mostly from Banner and himself, while the others just chuckled. Rogers coughed then said, "Loki, I know you probably don't care for it, but it'll make me feel better to say it. God bless and Godspeed because you'll need it and I don't care to lose a friend I hadn't truly met until yesterday."

_'High praise coming from an old boy like him. I know I could've beaten him in Germany if I wanted to, maybe after this we'll have to have a rematch.'_

Instead of a forearm grasp, he impulsively pulled the armoured man into a hug, "Well, if you can say that, then I can say:  May the Norns watch and protect your future, especially because after this I'm totally going to kick your bilgesnipe-like ass in a rematch."

"Huh, you wish your white-blue ass, I just need to add a bit of red and you'll be as patriotic as I am. Doesn't that sound fun ?"

"The only way you're ever going to win is if I illusion it you even smaller pip-squeak."

Fury spoke up then, "I'm betting the Captain'll kick your ass, Loki. If only cause if he can beat you, he'll beat that Jormungandr of yours."

  _'So many plans to make and so little time to linger.'_

His responce to the bald, dark-skinned man as he brushed past them, "We'll see, Fury, we'll see."

Plans made he took a deep breath and made his way out of the palace. The Chitauri spaceship's elevator was already down and a foot solider waited with Freida. Freida's brown-hair was messed and her eyes red as he approached, but otherwise she looked fine.

The Chitauri soldier threw Freida onto the ground and he walked up to the grey-skinned being. Its dark-purple eyes glowed menacingly as one of its clawed hands clamped down on his shoulder. He was pulled into the elevator that glowed with the all too familiar purple energy as the doors slid closed. _'Time to make this plan of mine worth while...hopefully.'_


	21. Thanos

Loki kicked the Chitauri foot-solider's feet from under it after it threw him down. Of course, being thrown on the floor meant that he had to look up at the only other beings in the room, the Other and Thanos.

_'Funny, I thought he'd be more intimidating. It must be that bright-pink skin tone, Norns, but does he ever look stupid up close !'_

Simply because of Thanos skin, the only thing about that was remotely scary besides the black armour was the, still pupil and iris-less, dark-purple/blue eyes.

Thanos tilted his head and rumbled, "I should have known you'd feel guilty and sacrifice yourself. What do you want to be a martyr, Loki ? To go down in the annuals of the universe as the one who killed me ? To be remembered forever as a hero ?"

"No, mostly I just want you to shut up for once. Two of us are going to die and neither of them is going to be me !"

The Other laughed and purple-robes swished as the man walked along the silver floor towards him. Arrogance incarnate as the Other laughed in his face, "As if you could kill 'Death'. A stupid child like you ? One who was willing to kill the whole Earth, just so that he could rule a single World."

He just smiled in response and teleported a knife into his hand, before lunging up to stab the Other in the throat. The Other clutched at the knife and turned around, after that he grabbed the Other's neck and snapped it with a single twist.

Thanos laughed, "Do you really think his eventual death will inconvience me ? I have had a thousand Others, after I kill you if I want I can just get another...or maybe I'll just make you be my second Other, doesn't that sound nice ?"

Thanos waved a hand and then the Other was getting up and pulling the dripping knife from his throat.

"No, that sounds like a terrible idea and I'm going to kill it right now." Just like he'd summoned a knife from the vault, he teleported the Casket into the room. He put a hand on the Casket and after summoning the eldjot to him, funneled it through the Casket into a torrent of white-blue fire that consumed the Other.

It made him grin when the fire stopped and there was nothing left of the Other, not even bones or dust.

A demanded, "Where did you get that ?!"

Waved his hand over the Casket of Ancient Winters, "You mean this little thing ? It's my inheritance thank-you very much. What is Thanos scared of the Casket ? Oh, poor baby, maybe I should put you down for a nap...permanently."

Thanos snarled rushing him and he rolled out of the way as the real Casket was teleported farther away and an illusionary Casket was shattered by a kick. Seconds later, he was being telekinetically lifted, then thrown into the ceiling hard enough to scramble at air and be caught.

"Flying reindeer ? I didn't know Thanos was Santa too."

Resisted the urge to roll his eyes until Stark had dropped him onto the spaceship's roof as Thanos smashed another hole in the ceiling only to be met with one of Stark's double palm-blasts to the face.

"I know, but doesn't he seem really angry ? I think he needs to cool off."

"Huh, me too."

His eldjot mixed with the power of Great-great Grandfather's ring and Stark's palm-blast was enough to throw even Thanos off the 'ship in a surge of organish energy. Grinned as he front-flipped off the 'ship to see Thanos being slammed around by Hulk. As he landed the pink being was being hit with the combined forces of Gungnir, Mjolnir and the Captain's shield.

Thanos snarled, "You can't kill me, you don't have the power, none of you do !", as he sent out a burst of energy that was so powerful it caused even Father and the Captain who was behind his shield to slide back.

 _'Really ? Then why do I have the Logi Auga jar Eik ?'_ He summoned the flaming emerald eye of the oak and threw it at Thanos, before throwing the eldjot in to mix both cold and hot flames. All the wounds and the mixture of fires was enough to consume and finally end Thanos the Dreaded. Thus it was that Thanos was to spend forever in the coldest, darkest and most isolated part of Hel.

With Thanos dead, all that was left for himself, Hel, Jormungandr, Fenrir and the others to do was kill the Chitauri that had not fled. 'I doubt they will be much of a threat to anyone now.' When he slumped against a wall exhausted, Thor thudded down to cuddle next to him as Fury and Coulson walked up.

Fury shook his head, "I have never seen that many aliens in my life and I hope I never do again. Right, Coulson, Hill ?"

The black-haired man and Hill, who strode up with his children and Father beside her, answered simultaneously, "Yes, Director. For that matter, neither do we unless their friendly."

He looked up at Father, who was leaning on Gungnir and Fenrir, "So, Father have yet my children proven worthy of Asgard's trust ?"

"Yes, Loki, they have. O Skuld is there yet a need for Ragnarok ?"

Skuld came up with Grandfather to reply, "No, there is no more need, it is over. Loki, if you wish to say good-bye to Bergelmir, do so now for you will not see him again for thousands of years and the universe is safe, we must return to Valhalla."

After he got up, he hugged not just Grandfather, but also Skuld.

First he turned to Skuld, "I can never thank you enough Norn and Valkyrie Skuld for making all this possible. For bringing me to Valhalla so that I could meet Grandfather and learn to appreciate myself, and for letting Mother and I come back to stop Thanos. So that I could finally tell Thor that I loved him and so that I could meet Freida and little Loki, just, just for everything."

Skuld's wings rustled as she nodded, though she did nothing else, but smile in response. Then he moved to Grandfather who just said, "No more death by bilgesnipe or dark-elf, please."

Banner called, "With all the friends he's got now, that shouldn't be a problem. Right, Steve ?"

"Not a problem at all, unless Tony has something to say about it."

Romanoff shook her head, "Shut up, Tony, you've done enough quipping today to last a life time."

"Not enough to spin a web."

Couldn't help rolling his eyes at Stark, then Grandfather, Great-great Grandfather Ymir, along with Bor, and the rest of the Valhalla army left. Thor got up, then they took Freida, little Loki and the rest of the Avengers to the cherry-tree lake with his Mothers, Father, Angrboetha, Fenrir, Jormungandr and Hel.

_'No more fearing Thanos, he is gone, Father and I - we are free. **Everyone** is free.'_


End file.
